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The United States Capitol, Washington, D.C 
























CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


BY 


PAUL S. REINSCH, Ph.D. 

w 

ENVOY EXTRAORDINARY AND MINISTER PLENIPOTEN¬ 
TIARY OF THE UNITED STATES TO THE 
CHINESE REPUBLIC 


REVISED EDITION 


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) 


BENJ. H. SANBORN & CO. 

CHICAGO NEW YORK BOSTON 

1920 



Copyright, 1909, 

By PAUL S. REINSCH. 

Copyright, 1918, 1920, 

By BENJ. H. SANBORN & CO. 


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PREFACE 


Young persons are not alone in preferring to 
see how things are done in political life rather 
than to study the bare legal framework of the 
government of the state. The author believes 
that emphasis on the structure of our govern¬ 
ment has been carried too far, especially in books 
for children and young students. The subject 
has been given too much of a legal character. 
But to see men at work, to see them struggling 
for influence and power and performing the duties 
of office and of citizenship is undoubtedly far 
more interesting than to consider the underlying 
legal principles of constitutional organization. 
The writer of this little book has therefore at¬ 
tempted to make it a portrayal of action in 
political life. Its prime purpose is to train 
boys and girls to notice and to understand what 
is going on about them in their town, state, and 
nation. However, for intelligent action in mat¬ 
ters of politics, we need also some understanding 
of the outward form of government. After the 


IV 


PREFACE 


more essential methods of political action have 
been described, some attention will therefore be 
given to the structure of the state in all its parts. 
To the ordinary citizen it is far more important 
to understand the meaning of such matters as 
elections, the action of the city council, and 
the police, than to dwell upon the refinements 
of constitutional law. Only the most essential 
features of state organization have therefore 
been pointed out. 

Politics and government are human action — 
life and action of the most interesting kind. 
They are action, moreover, upon which our per¬ 
sonal welfare and happiness are directly depend¬ 
ent. We cannot be members of a state in which 
corruption and injustice govern without feeling 
the bad results in our own life. The life of a 
state is our life written large. Without a well- 
arranged and orderly state life, complete private 
happiness is not possible. Moreover, there is 
no satisfaction in life so great as devotion to the 
welfare of the state. All private satisfaction 
seems small when compared with that of a man 
who has gained the confidence of his fellow- 
citizens through honest action and personal 
sacrifice. 


PREFACE 


V 


There is such a multitude of facts in connec¬ 
tion with political life that it is necessary to 
select those which are most important for young 
Americans to know. A small book like this 
cannot pretend to be complete. If we should 
try to fill it with a description of every political 
institution, it would become a dreary catalogue 
of things that mean nothing to our minds. But 
while we cannot cover the ground completely, 
we can endeavor to point out those things which 
are most vital and important, in order that they 
may acquire a meaning in the minds of young 
persons which will help them much in after life. 
This is not a handbook on American government, 
but only the first introduction into that fascinat¬ 
ing field. 

Institutions differ so much in different parts 
of our country that some of them can be de¬ 
scribed only in* general terms. It is for the 
young students themselves to see what particular 
form an institution takes in their own commu¬ 
nity and neighborhood. To make them find 
out these things by inquiry and observation is 
the best training that their minds can receive. 

People should be able to see for themselves and 
interpret the meaning of what is going on around 


VI 


PREFACE 


them. For this reason there have been added 
to each chapter a few questions to be answered 
by the pupil himself after inquiry and observa¬ 
tion. These are, of course, only in the nature 
of suggestions to the teacher. The information 
is not to be taken from books, but is to be ob¬ 
tained through personal inquiry. The intelligent 
use of newspaper information, too, may be taught 
in this connection. Often these questions are 
designed also to train the judgment by calling 
for a decision between two alternatives. The 
study of political action offers a rare opportunity 
for training the power of observation as well as 
the judgment. As in the natural sciences, a pupil 
must learn to observe accurately and to judge of 
what he sees. It is apparent that a republic is 
especially in need of citizens who are able to do 
their own thinking, and to see the real through 
the veil of outward appearances. 

The thanks of the author are due especially 
to Mr. Gordon A. Southworth, who rendered 
valuable assistance in preparing the manuscript, 
and who, during the author’s absence from the 
country, carefully read the proof; also to the 
United States Treasury Department, the United 
States Department of Agriculture, the Depart- 


PREFACE 


Vll 


ments of War and Navy, the Post-office Depart¬ 
ment, the Department of Commerce and Labor, 
the United States Academies at West Point and 
Annapolis, the Department of Education, New 
York City, the Massachusetts Highway Commis¬ 
sion, and the Massachusetts Metropolitan Park 
Commission, for illustrations. 

Paul S. Reinsch. 

The University of Wisconsin, 

January, 1909. 

Legation of the United States 
of America, Peking, China, 

February, 1918. 


































































































































































CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Preface .iii 

Part I. The Government and the Citizen . . 1 

Chap I. The True Nature of Government . . 3 

II. The Citizen’s Part in Government . . 8 

III. Nominations .13 

IV. Elections.17 

V. Some Duties of Citizens ... 27 

Part II. What Governments Do .... 35 

Chap. VI. Maintaining Order.37 

VII. Protection of the Citizens ... 53 

VIII. Educational Institutions . . .61 

IX. Public Charities.71 

X. The Highways.77 

XI. Public Works in Cities .... 86 

XII. The Development of Public Wealth 90 

XIII. Forests.97 

XIV. Public Lands.106 

XV. Money.109 

XVI. The Mails.113 

XVII. Foreign Affairs.119 

XVIII. The Army and Navy .... 126 

XIX. Taxation.137 

XX. Legislation.149 


IX 






X 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Part III. The Organization of the Government . 161 


Chap. XXI. 

The Town and Village . 

. 163 

XXII. 

The City .... 

. 168 

XXIII. 

The County .... 

. 180 

XXIV. 

The State Government . 

. 183 

XXV. 

The National Government 

. 194 

XXVI. 

The President 

. 201 

XXVII. 

The Cabinet .... 

\ 210 

XXVIII. 

The Congress 

. 217 

XXIX. 

The Federal Courts 

. 222 

XXX. 

International Unions 

. 226 

Part IV. Some 

American Ideals . 

. 229 

Chap. XXXI. 

Hospitality to All People 

. 231 

XXXII. 

Liberty ..... 

. 238 

XXXIII. 

Equality of Opportunity 

. 243 

XXXIV. 

Patriotism .... 

. 246 


Part V. The Declaration of Independence. Analysis 

of the Federal Constitution . . 253 

Chap. XXXV. The Declaration of Independence. Analy¬ 
sis of the Federal Constitution . . . 255 


Index 


. 269 





PART I 


GOVERNMENT AND THE CITIZEN 



Pledge to the Flag 


I pledge allegiance to the American Flag, and to the 
Republic for which it stands; one nation, indivisible, 
with liberty and justice for all. 







CHAPTER I 


THE TRUE NATURE OF GOVERNMENT 

Government in Early Times. — Wherever men 
live together in communities, government exists. 
It has, however, very different forms. Among the 
savages in Africa and among the tribes of Central 
Asia, the communities are very small. They 
have at their head a chieftain. As civilization 
advances, a number of such communities or tribes 
are brought together under the power of a single 
ruler. In the earlier stages of community life 
there is apt to be much warfare. War demands 
obedience on the part of the army to its com¬ 
mander. So it comes about that the head of 
the state at times when war is common becomes 
very powerful. As the power passes from father 
to son, certain families establish their authority 
for long periods. Such royal families, whose 
history goes back to these early warlike times, 
still exist in many countries, like England, 
Spain, and Italy. In some of these countries, 
3 


4 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


however, the progress of peaceful civilization 
has resulted in greatly limiting the power of the 
sovereign; while in a number of countries such as 
the United States, France, and Switzerland, no 
sovereign family exists at all, the government 
being carried on by men elected by the citizens in 
general. 

In earlier times government was looked upon 
as something imposed from above. The royal 
power seemed so strong that there was no pos¬ 
sibility of resisting it. Kings often claimed that 
they exercised divine power. In such periods 
the people were not supposed to do anything but 
obey commands given from above. A state with 
such a government has an unstable foundation. 
As it would be unsafe to build a house upon a 
foundation narrower than the house itself, so a 
state which rests only on a small number of people 
is not secure. It is far better that the power of 
all the people should be recognized in order that 
the state may have their intelligent support. 

Government in Modern Times. — In our own 
times a government that would rely on force 
alone would have no security among an intelli¬ 
gent people. Our idea of government is different. 
In the United States the government is merely the 


THE TRUE NATURE OF GOVERNMENT 5 

people acting directly or through its agents and 
representatives, for its own benefit. We can¬ 
not live happily unless we are willing to obey 
reasonable laws which protect the life and prop¬ 
erty of ourselves as well as of others. We could 
not live happily in a wilderness or in solitude. 
We need the company and assistance of other 
people. We need schools, churches, universities, 
business associations, societies, and clubs of 
various kinds. In order that we may be able 
to enjoy all these advantages of social life, we 
must also observe the rules laid down for social 
action. In order that these rules may be just 
and reasonable and impartially enforced, we 
elect certain of our fellow-citizens to make laws 
or to appoint officials for the execution of the 
laws. When we obey these laws and officers, 
we are simply obeying what we ourselves con¬ 
sider just and right. 

The Real Government. — The government is 
composed of the men whom the people elect to 
office, together with officers who are appointed 
by them under the law. These men do the work 
in which all citizens are interested. They ought, 
therefore, to consider the welfare and interest 
of all members of the state. The government 


6 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


is not something apart from our life, something 
outside of us, set over us; it is simply ourselves, 
the people, acting for our common benefit. The 
men whom we intrust with power do not have any 
special privilege, nor should they look upon their 
office as a source of advantage to themselves. We 
have given them influence and authority in order 
that they may do the work in which we are all 
interested. An official, no matter how high, is 
under the law just as any other citizen. Thus, 
if a governor or a president should violate the 
speed laws on a public road, he would be subject 
to arrest and fine like any other citizen. His 
power is only such as the law has given him, and 
is no greater than his responsibilities. 

We need faithful, unselfish public servants who 
really think of and work for what is best for the 
community, that is, for all of us. Such men we 
shall honor and reward for their honesty and effi¬ 
ciency. In men who use their office simply to 
benefit themselves or their friends, we shall 
have no confidence. If they consider what is 
good for any small group of men or for any cor¬ 
poration rather than for the people as a whole, 
they are not faithful servants of the public. They 
are servants of the few — of men who possibly re- 


THE TRUE NATURE OF GOVERNMENT 7 


ward them with private gain, while we, the public, 
are ignored as of no importance. We shall not 
trust men in office when we discover that their 
character is not that of honest public servants. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Are you a citizen? Of what? Tell the differ¬ 
ence between a citizen and a voter. 

2. What is a monarchy? An oligarchy? A plu¬ 
tocracy ? A democracy ? 

3. How far back can you trace the family of King 
George V ? 

4. What is a corporation? A republic? An ordi¬ 
nance ? 

5. Why should we obey city ordinances? 

6. What is patriotism? How can boys and girls 
show their patriotism ? 

7. Name some public officials in your city or town. 
Were they elected or appointed, and by whom? 

8. What is a community or tribe ? How governed ? 

9. What classes of citizens should be elected to 
public office ? Why ? 

10. How does the government of the United States 
differ from that of England? 


CHAPTER II 


THE CITIZEN’S PART IN GOVERNMENT 

A Pure Democracy. — While the work of 
government is carried on by elected and ap¬ 
pointed officials who represent the people, the 
citizens themselves have important duties to 
fulfill in connection with the public business. 
There are some small communities in which the 
voters in assembly directly perform almost the 
entire work of governing. In th^ mountain re¬ 
gions of Switzerland there are cantons or com¬ 
munities in which all the citizens meet once or 
several times a year to discuss all matters of 
common interest. On these occasions they vote 
for laws and regulations and instruct the per¬ 
manent officials as to how they are to conduct 
public affairs. In our country we have a similar 
institution in the town meeting found in New 
England, in the state of New York, and in several 
Western commonwealths, in which the citizens 
of a neighborhood come together to discuss matters 
8 


THE CITIZEN’S PART IN GOVERNMENT 9 

relating to the common" welfare. They vote on 
the raising of money, on the building and repair 
of roads, on school business, and similar matters. 
They elect some of their number, often called 
selectmen, to carry their instructions into effect 
and transact business connected therewith. We 
call this form of public action direct democracy. 
Democracy is a Greek word meaning the rule 
of the people. In the town the people rule 
directly. They make their own by-laws and 
regulations without electing representatives for 
that purpose. 

A Representative Government. — But it is plain 
that in a large city, in a state, or in a nation, it 
would be impossible to have all the citizens meet 
together for discussion and voting. A mass meet¬ 
ing of several thousand or a hundred thousand 
people is wholly impracticable. It is therefore 
necessary that smaller groups within the city or 
state — say wards or districts in the city or towns 
and counties in the state — should select rep¬ 
resentatives to meet together as a council or 
legislature to make laws and regulations for the 
government of the community. In a nation like 
our own the most important duty of the citizens, 
therefore, is that of voting. When the citizen 


10 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



casts his ballot, he decides who is to represent 
him in the exercise of power. 

The people not only select the men who are to 
hold office, but they also control the policies of 


The Senate Chamber, Washington, D.C. 

public action which are to be followed, because 
candidates for office always declare what policy 
.they stand for. The citizens or electors there¬ 
fore choose not only between men but between 
policies. 

Intelligent Voting. — Many people do not realize 
the importance of the act they perform when they 









THE CITIZEN’S PART IN GOVERNMENT 11 


cast their ballots. There are even people who do 
not think for themselves when they are voting, 
but follow the advice of others. Every citizen 
should know what candidates he wants to vote 
for as the best representatives of his idea of the 
public good. He should inquire about them, and 
find out whether in offices which they may have 
formerly held they have been honest and efficient. 
He should read their arguments and see what 
policies they support. If he finds that they are 
not to be trusted, or that they support wrong 
policies, he should not vote for them. 

We see that there are many things to inquire 
about before voting. It is, therefore, better 
that there should not be too many elective offices. 
Let the most important officers be elected by the 
people, but let all other officials be appointed. 
If we have to vote for a large number of men, 
we cannot often vote intelligently. We cannot 
learn all we ought to know about the individual 
candidates before the election. If, however, we 
vote only for men to fill the most important 
positions, we may ordinarily do so wisely, and 
may thus control the policy of the entire gov¬ 
ernment, the subordinate officials being depend¬ 
ent in their action. 


12 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


Admission to Citizenship. —All persons born 
in the United States are American citizens, no 
matter what the nationality of their parents may 
be. If people from other countries come to live 
in the United States, and desire to become citizens 
here, the law requires them to declare this purpose 
before the court. Then, after residing in the 
United States five years, they may be admitted 
to citizenship by a court, if they declare their in¬ 
tention to live permanently in this country and 
promise to support the Constitution. Only white 
• persons and people of African descent may become 
citizens of our country by our general naturaliza¬ 
tion laws. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What is the difference between a pure democracy 
and a representative democracy? 

2. Which form of government is better in a place 
of fifteen thousand inhabitants? Why? 

3. What are by-laws ? A constitution ? Selectmen? 

4. Who is at the head of the government in your 
town or city ? Are his assistants appointed or elected ? 

5. What is a ward? How many has your city? 

6. What is a county ? How many are there in your 
state ? 

7. What is a citizen’s most important duty? 

8. What is a town meeting? Where found? What 
matters are voted upon? 


CHAPTER III 
NOMINATIONS 

Selecting Candidates for Office. — In the elec¬ 
tion one may, of course, vote for any citizen whom 
he desires to place in office. It is customary, 
however, for voters to name or nominate certain 
candidates before the election, because otherwise 
the votes would be scattered. One would not 
care to throw away one’s vote by casting it for 
a person whom no one else puts on his ticket. 
Citizens, therefore, combine to select a man 
for whom they will vote. In this way parties 
are formed. Political parties are large groups 
of citizens who stand for certain policies and 
who act together in nominating officials to carry 
out those policies. 

It is of great importance that every person 
who has a right to vote should do so. In a re¬ 
public like ours every citizen is a part of the 
government and should do everything he can 
to see that the officers who are placed in charge 
13 


14 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


of the government are able men who will do all 
they can to forward the interests of the whole 
people. 

Caucuses and Conventions. — The former 
method of choosing the party candidates — 
still used in some states — was for the voters 
of a party in each district to meet in a primary 
or caucus where the candidates were nominated 
and where delegates to similar meetings in the 
larger political units were chosen. Larger units 
attended by delegates were, for example, the 
county and the state conventions. 

In many states there are now no conventions 
but the candidates put their names before the 
people by a “ primary petition ” which is a 
paper on which a number of voters declare their 
preference for a certain candidate. There is then 
held a primary election at which the voters can 
vote directly for the candidate for office instead 
of voting for the delegates to a convention. 

When citizens do not pay sufficient attention to 
the primary nominations, the nominating power 
often comes into the hands of corrupt politicians. 
One cannot expect to enjoy a right which he does 
not exercise. Even rights of property must be 
exercised in order to preserve them. Should one 


NOMINATIONS 


15 


fail to look after land which he owns, some one 
else might settle on it, and finally the owner’s right 
to it would be lost. So if citizens do not exercise 
their right of nominating candidates for office, 
their power will be taken by political organizers 
who are often corrupt and seek nothing but their 
own gain. 

Direct Primaries. — In a large number of the 
states the system has been changed so that party 
conventions no longer have this power of nomina¬ 
tion. The citizens themselves hold a direct 'pri¬ 
mary election at which they vote for men whom 
they wish to be candidates of a party for office. 
The man receiving the largest number of votes in 
each party for any office will be the candidate of 
that party in the election which is held somewhat 
later. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Do you have direct primary elections in your 
state ? 

2. At what time and in what manner are the candi¬ 
dates for the office of sheriff nominated ? 

3. Is it better that the candidates should be nomi¬ 
nated in a convention or by direct primaries ? 

4. At the next primary election let your father or 
uncle show you a ballot. See how many candidates 
are named on this ballot. 


16 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


5. What is the meaning of primary? Politics? 
Nominate? Try to find the origin of the word “can¬ 
didate 

6. Which is more important, the nomination or the 
election of an official? 

7. What is a political party ? Name four. 

8. What is a convention? What does the word 
“convention” mean? 

9. Who are entitled to vote at a primary? Why? 

10. For what offices were candidates voted for at 

the last primary in your district or ward? 


CHAPTER IV 
ELECTIONS 

Voting by Ballot. — In the United States elec- 
tions are carried on entirely by ballot; that is, by 
a vote written or printed upon a slip or sheet of 
paper. The ballot may be simply a party ballot; 
that is, the names of the candidates of one party 
only may appear on it. This is the older method, 
which is still used in a few states. Under this 
method, if one desires to vote for a man whose 
name is not on the party ticket, he will scratch 
out the name of the regular nominee and write 
the name of the man whom he desires to be 
elected. This is called “ scratching ”, or the 
voting of a “ split ticket 

The Australian Ballot. — In most states the 
so-called Australian ballot has been introduced. 
It is a ballot printed by public authority, and 
voted in secret. The names of all the candidates 
for the offices concerned in an election appear 
on the ballot. There are two general types of 
17 


18 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


ballot. In one, called the party column ballot, 
the names of all the candidates of each party are 
printed in a column. Often a party emblem 
appears at the top to guide the voter who cannot 
read the ballot he wishes to vote. There may 
be also a circle in which the voter may put his 
mark if he wishes to vote a “ straight ticket ”, that 
is, to vote for all the candidates of a certain party. 
In the other type of ballot, the names of the can¬ 
didates of all parties for each office are arranged 
in a separate group for each office and the voter 
must put a mark by the name of each person for 
whom he wishes to vote. The type of Australian 
ballot illustrated on page 19 is the party column 
ballot. 

Split Tickets. — It is very important that one 
should learn how to vote a split ticket. If one 
can vote only a straight ticket, that is, a ticket for 
all the candidates of a certain party, his choice 
is limited. Frequently the voter may feel that 
he should vote for some of the candidates on one 
party ticket and for some candidates on other 
tickets. He can do this by placing marks by the 
names of the persons he prefers. This is called 
voting a “ split ticket ”. There may be on the 
party ticket a man who should not be elected, 


ELECTIONS 


19 


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□ MAX WTLSOOCE ‘ Q FRANK, KALINA 

on* % im V. Am* ims a Iumi a* _ 

0 SAMUEL E PANAMA 0 JAMES PROCKAZXA 

iua a. ■er.aa.ie an tow* 1*01 T*m at (*>i 

0 GEORGE L ROBERTSON 0 MORRIS SESK1ND 

B«0l V 'IiRm MM. f M M i U» I Cwm FI *»*. 

□ CUS G. MARTIN 0 JOS L NAYLOR 

nil to OieO. l-*l«M* JM* lam— lie.- 

1 WILLIAM C SCHUMAN 0 DR MOSES SAHUD- 

IIH ». DM** H AM. f lu t»M MU*«aM> AM.- 

1 WILLIAM E AUSTIN 0 CHAS KISSUNC 

‘ ' •*> to—* n. tow _ IK rimmm i *L.-- 

J HENRY SEVERN 0 JOHN WEYER • 

IM Ito toe an. tof ito on ». to 

0 JOHN LAMBERT 0 CARL F SCHULTZ 

«ie a w. a*, toe n on* »./— 

1 SAMUEL D. HOLDERMAN 0 OSCAR OGREN 

to* an * to* to 

0 WILLIAM T RAWLEKH 0 LOUIS UNG 
0 HENRY TERRILL 0 J. C GIBSON 

0 BEN ELMER DAY 0 R. 5 SNIDER 

aa* ton . pm* ioi » •**. i*. a 

[] ELBRIDGE L BUCHANAN 0 JAS RILEY 

nm to lien no. to* i 

1 JOHN W. ROGERS 0 GUS SANDBORG 

Ml a Otoe to a. a w e _ tie * a*, to to* 


TU UIITEO STATES TIE UNITED STATU 

1 THOMAS H GRABOVSKY 0 ELLEN M. ORR 

ill un*> *e. to** onto 


0 HENRY F. RUEL 

to a — we to 

0 BEN P. ALLEN 
0 ELMER E_ CALDWELL 

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□ HOME* A. SEYMOUR 

MU McfcaM ML. UIMa 

0 AMOS P. SPENCER 
0 PHILIP W. BARNES 

Ml * ltd M U — V 

0 ANDREW J POORMAN 
Q CHARLES E. FEBUCH 

pmTmvbmP 

0 FRANK o. LOWDCN 

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Q JOHN G OGLESBY 

FV UNKTUV OF ITATK 

1 LOUIS L EMMERSON. 

ni in. to *e . 

PM AUDITOR OF PUBUU 


0 C a ADAMS 
0 WM. BRYAN 

aia toto. to . 

0 GEO. SMITH 

~~ « ••*»— to — 

0 GUSTAV HILLER 
0 T. H. WHITEHEAD 

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0JOE GLOWC 
0J.M. VARNER 
0 W. E DAVIS 

FOR DOVER MR 

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□ 


rat nivi rtusvu 


PM ATTORHT AOUAL 


Q JAMES J BRADY 

FOR Imn TRUSURU 

0 ARTHUR W. CHARLES 

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0 PATRICK J. LUCEY 

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0 ANDREW RUSSEL 

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0 EDWARD J. BRUNDAGE 

a?* Dum v (W 


0 FRANK O. ANDERSON 

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0 BERT W. NEWTON 

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0 CLARENCE C BROOKS 


□ 

rat trustees or oanjumr rat trustees of oiivusrn rat trustees of uuvusfTV rat Tiusncs of uwvusitt for rtusnis of unvusrrv for TRusnu of uuivusirr 


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1 FRfTZ UCHTS1NN 

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0 GEORGE BECOURS 

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0 VINCENT MAUX 

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0 JOHN ORTH 

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0 GEORGE BEINUCH 

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1 JOSEPH STISKA 

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”] AXEL YOUNG 

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□ 

FOR MVIRIOR 

0 JOHN M. FRANCIS 

c* a Im Ml imm* 

FOR UEUTUAHT DO VCRIOR 

0 G. A. JENNINGS 

am a Hu a. i a '•« 

FOR SICRITERV OF STET1 

0 CUS LARSON 

MO tfc* M* 

FOR IDDITOR OF PUBU0 
ICC0UITS 

Q OSCAR NORDSTROM 

obi a Ia'om *•% Ohm 

FOR STETE TRUSURU 
0 IGNATZ FRIEDMAN 
FOR ETT0RRET DEVREL 

0 FRANK CR ZERMANN 

mi* a o*o%a r\ am. 


0 MARY SMITH 
0 MARY A. DEAN 

m cmbmv •••« CR—- 

Q MARY E METZGAR 

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0 EDWARD T LEE 
0 C G. KINDRED 

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0 DAVU) J. STEWARD 

_ IMI MtaW AM •*'* 

0 K. H LLAMAS 

tan to_ 

1 EDWARD L BLAKE 
an itoken an (** n* 

0 JOHN K WADHAMS 
took LkOkO an to 
0 EDWARD WORTH 

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0 JOHN H HILL 

I* * «to*4. to (Xea*«e 

0 CHARLES R JONES 

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0 LYMAN S. BACKUS 
0 GEORGE E. CLARKE 

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0 W. L KENNEDY 

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0 SAMUEL J. WHITE 
0 W. W. HOUSER 

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0 W. A. MORGAN 
QU DOUGHERTY 

•«a*« CSq 

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Q JOHN R. GOLDEN 

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0 HERVEY K DUBOIS 

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0 AUGUST W. MEYER 

Mi"« r — 

FOR IU0IT0R OF PUBUD 
ICC0UUTS 

Q JOHN a I HUP 

FOR mn TRUSURU 
0 JONATHAN SEAMAN 
FOR ITT0RRE7 SEIEUL 

0 ORPHEUS A. HARDING 


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0 EDWARD CHILTON CRAIG 0 MARY BUSEY 
0 GEORGE T. PAGE 0 WILLIAM L ABBOTT 

0 ns hajoubT aOLOMOR Q OTIS W HOIT 

FOR REHtEuFriTIVES » FOR REPRESElflTIVES II 


OF ILUROIS' Of aLMOIS OF ILUR0IS 

(S to be fltcua) (it tt iltctw)) (S to ba c It (tad) 

0 ANNABELLE KENNEDY 0 MRS. ANNA MILLER 0 MATTIE G. SQUIRES 

mi. • (ton to an ettw 1 —‘ t*t * inn to toi «fe an to *baa* 

J MARY O'REILLY 0 MRS HANNA IVERSON 0 SARAH S SHEEN 

»* one— m ow aooi am*, to (Uw lait o— wn 

ELLEN CATES STARR 0LT HOLMES 0 LUCLBA L MINOR 

M» M ItelnM ML Oi*<b • • ■*•*« Tar. W i H IM 

FOR REPRESEITITinS IR FOR REPRESEITITIVES II FOR REPRESIITIT1VIS IM 


mn *t 


STATE ET UME COIOttSS-ITATl AT UIU C0MRESS— STITI IT UME COMRESS-STin IT URU 


(t to ba dntad) (1 to be elected) 

0 WILLIAM ELZA WILLIAMS 0 MEDtLL MC CORMKX 

• HI! V • W0 UA. Mart Ml CHN«k 

0 JOSEPH O. KOSTNEJt 0 WILLIAM E MASON 

FOR REPRISE IT ATI VI 10 
C0RBRUS 

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0 WILLIAM J HENNESSEY 

tact t n* to (tone* 

FOR MEMBER STATE BOARD 
OF EfUIUZITIOU 


FOR REPRESEMTITIVi W 
C0IBRESS 


0 MARTIN a MADDEN 

for mimruTstiti 'bouo 

OF EQUILUATNM 


(I to »* alec ted) 

0 J LOUIS ENCDAHL 

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WALTER HUGGINS 

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OF EQUALIZATION 


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I JOHN KOWATZEK 

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0 MACL.C HOYNE 

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3 ARTHUR E HELM 

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Ul MurUTHI IKaArW 


BAM Mfrartw A*. 0 %A«^ 


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0 WILLIAM A. CUNNEA 


□ 

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FM mm ATT OUST 


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0 WILLIAM M. BRINKMAN 

ana IM«* an <-en.ee 

0 BENJAMIN H LUCAS 

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FM STATE S ATTORIEV 

0 HARRY B. MILLER 

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0 JOSEPH SABATH 0 OSCAR HEBEL Q SAMULL BLOCX ^ 0 


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1 3 in a eaeint al i e n* 

FM REPRESENTATIVE IB 
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An Australian Ballot 










20 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


because he has failed to fulfill his promises and 
has not been an honest servant of the public. He 
can be defeated only by votes for the candidate 
of some other party for that position. 

The Process of Voting. — Our places where 
elections are to be held are determined by law. 
Each party is entitled to have election judges 
present to take charge of the election and report 
the result to the Secretary of State in the capital 
of the commonwealth or to other designated 
officers. On entering the election booth and 
having his right to vote recognized, the voter 
will receive a blank ballot. He then steps into 
a stall, where he marks his ballot. When he 
has carefully looked it over to see that he 
has made no mistake, he folds it so that no 
one may know how he has voted and hands it 
to one of the election judges, who deposits it in 
the ballot-box. If there is a voting machine, the 
voter will pull certain levers which will register 
his vote. 

In either case the vote is secret, and nobody 
knows who has been favored. Formerly votes 
were given by word of mouth, so that the com¬ 
munity knew how every one had voted. The 
secret ballot was introduced for the purpose of 


ELECTIONS 


21 


breaking down the influence of rich and powerful 
men who might wish to coerce those dependent 
upon them to vote in a certain way. At the 
present time one is not obliged to make his vote 
public, though most persons are independent 
enough to tell frankly whom they have sup¬ 
ported. Some people think that it is a disgrace 
to have voted for a candidate who has been de¬ 
feated ; but if the voter acts intelligently and 
honestly, defeat does not matter. The majority 
is sometimes wrong. It is better to feel that 
one is right with a few than wrong with the 
majority. 

Political Campaigns. — Preceding the election, 
the candidates urge upon the voters their claims 
to office. A campaign is really like a series of 
military movements and battles in a war. As 
we have substituted the ballot for force, we have 
freed ourselves from the need of battles to de¬ 
termine who the rulers shall be; but we call a 
political contest a campaign because citizens can 
fight with speeches and ballots as well as with 
arms. Often people form uniformed marching 
clubs that parade through the streets with bands 
of music, and gather to hear party speeches. This 
is all very interesting to the boys and girls, but 


22 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


a careful voter will be very little influenced by 
such exhibitions. He will make up his mind in 
his choice between different candidates on the 
basis of the principles they stand for and the 
service they have rendered. In this he is as¬ 
sisted by the arguments made during the cam¬ 
paign. These we sometimes call stump speeches, 
because when our country was new and but re¬ 
cently settled many tree stumps were still left 
standing in village streets. It was very con¬ 
venient for a man who wanted to address the 
villagers to mount one of these stumps and to 
make his speech from this point of vantage. 
If he became very profuse in cheap and insincere 
patriotism, it was said, “ He made the eagle 
scream.” Veiy often the campaign speeches 
took the form of deriding and blackening the 
character of the other party, or of telling jokes 
meant to ridicule the opposition. 

Now campaigns have become more dignified. 
We like to hear a witty speaker who knows how 
to take advantage of the weaknesses of the other 
side, but we are not satisfied with ancient jokes 
and a superficial oratory. The most successful 
political orators to-day know that the great in¬ 
terests of the public, the- important work that 


ELECTIONS 


23 


the government is doing, are more fascinating 
subjects than anything else on which a campaign 
speech can be made. They, therefore, speak to 
their audiences upon matters that are really 
worth while. They do not seek merely to amuse 
their hearers, but they appeal to their judgment. 

Voting on Changes in the Constitution. — While 
the citizen most frequently votes for public offi¬ 
cials, he is also occasionally called on to express 
his choice regarding important matters of law 
or public expediency. This takes place when 
constitutional amendments are submitted to the 
people. A constitution is the body of law which 
lies at the basis of government. It fixes the gen¬ 
eral powers of officers and guarantees the rights 
of citizens. A change in the constitution is the 
most important act of the citizens of a free state. 
The fundamental law upon which everything else 
depends is affected by such action. The proposed 
amendments will be printed at the bottom of the 
ballots or upon separate sheets. Upon these 
amendments the citizens vote either “ yes ” or 
“no”. It is strange that usually the vote on 
amendments is very small as compared with the. 
vote for officials. This shows that many people 
do not appreciate the importance of a change in 


24 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


the constitution. They do not take the time to 
inform themselves as to what the amendment 
means. For example, it may provide that the 
state shall be authorized to borrow money for 
the construction of public roads. The voter 
should consider whether it is advisable for the 
state to incur a debt for this purpose. He should 
consider how valuable good roads are to a com¬ 
monwealth — how much they add in usefulness 
and enjoyment to the life of the citizens. Only 
after he has fully considered these matters and 
informed himself upon them should he cast his 
vote. 

Oversight of Officials. Recall. —We ought to 
know the business of the state or government 
because it is our own business and affects our 
own happiness. We should give heed to what 
the public servants are doing and how they are 
fulfilling their duties. We cannot expect that 
officials will be faithful to our interests if we do 
not reward them for honest action with our con¬ 
fidence. If we do not attend to our own affairs, 
nobody else will do it for us. We have a common 
proverb, “ Mind your own business/’ This has 
often been falsely interpreted to mean that a man 
should confine himself exclusively to his own 


ELECTIONS 


25 


individual interests. It is, of course, very wise 
that we should not waste any attention on what 
concerns other people only. But when we go 
before the legislature and argue for the protec¬ 
tion of forests or for the building of good roads, 
or when we tell'the city council that no franchises 
should be given without proper return to the 
people and the city, we are attending to our own 
business; because if these things are not settled 
in the right manner we may personally suffer in 
consequence. 

In some states the power of “ recall ” has been 
given to the people. In these states, if an officer 
is considered unworthy of his office, a certain per 
cent of the voters may by signing a petition call 
for the removal of the official from office and the 
election of another to take his place. This 
privilege of recall, although it is not exercised 
very often, assures better government because 
officials know they are directly accountable to 
the people for their conduct of public affairs. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What is a “hand vote”? A “yea and nay 
vote”? A “roll-call vote”? A 11 viva voce vote”? 

2. When may each of these ways of voting be used ? 


26 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


3. What is a ballot? Try to find the origin of the 
word. 

4. What is it to “scratch a ballot”? 

5. Why are states sometimes called common¬ 
wealths ? 

6. What is the value of a political torch-light 
procession ? 

7. What are some of the advantages of a secret 
ballot ? 

8. What are some of the advantages of a voting 
machine ? 

9. Find the meaning of guarantee; legislature; 
franchise; fundamental; register. 


CHAPTER V 

SOME DUTIES OF CITIZENS 

Office-holding. — The duty of the citizen is 
not fully done when he has voted for officials and 
on constitutional amendments. He may be called 
by his fellow-citizens to hold public office himself. 
In this case it is his duty, even at some personal 
sacrifice, to undertake this work for the state 
and the community. Some offices do not require 
much attention. They are simply honorary and 
without salary. The office of presidential elector 
is such. In most cases, however, public office 
involves labor and time. It is, therefore, just 
that the public should pay its officers well, so that 
their loss may not be too great. The American 
people is, indeed, rich enough to afford the best 
public service, and it should be paid for at a rea¬ 
sonable rate. We ought not to expect men to 
leave their business and devote their time and 
thought and energy to the public without suitable 
remuneration. But in turn the office-holder 
27 


28 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


should look upon himself as a representative of 
the public. The value of his position is not to be 
estimated by the privileges or income which it 
brings to him, but by the advantages which he 
can secure for the public by means of it. The 
highest honor in the world is public confidence, 
not a large income. The President of the United 
States is paid only $75,000 a year. Its Chief 
Justice receives $15,000, cabinet officers, $12,000, 
and a senator or representative, $7500. Yet 
there are many millionaires who would willingly 
surrender their entire income in order to enjoy 
the public confidence which goes with these high 
offices. 

Jury Service. — Another duty of citizens is to 
serve on juries in the trial of civil and criminal 
cases. For this service the citizen is given a small 
remuneration, but it is a duty which is often 
irksome and disagreeable. To sit through a long, 
tedious trial, perhaps for weeks, listening to testi¬ 
mony and the arguments of attorneys, and then 
to be shut up with other jurymen for hours, or even 
days, until the verdict has been agreed upon, is 
often a very undesirable experience. There is no 
duty of the citizen, however, the performance of 
which makes higher demands upon his character. 


SOME DUTIES OF CITIZENS 


29 



All our laws rest upon the people. They must 
ultimately enforce them through juries in all 
parts of our country. When a man has com¬ 
mitted a crime, he ought to be punished. He 


The United States Supreme Court Room 

should neither be persecuted in malice nor freed 
through pity. The majesty of the law must be 
upheld. Often when jurors see how a man has 
been led into temptation by others, how he has 
failed through weakness of character, and how 
his wife and innocent children will suffer through 




30 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


his imprisonment, they are moved with compas¬ 
sion, and it becomes a hard task to condemn him. 
Yet it must be done, because punishment is meted 
out to offenders in order that the people may be 
protected. Upon the character and intelligence 
of jurymen depend the enforcement of law and 
the security of the people. 

Army Service. — Every citizen of the state is 



Dress Parade, West Point 


under obligation to defend his country in case 
of need. If our country should be attacked from 
without, the citizen must be ready to come to its 
aid. At such a time he is merely standing up for 
the defense of his home, his family, and all that is 
dear to him. In times of war the government 
is given the right to compel the citizen to render 





SOME DUTIES OF CITIZENS 


31 


military service. He may be drafted into the 
army, and must serve unless his physical condition 
is such as to make it impossible. We should train 
our bodies so that we can endure fatigue and hard¬ 
ship, otherwise the first experience in a military 
camp would make us helpless. Our nation will be 



A Group of Officers Inspecting Aeroplanes 
In one of the United States Aviation Training Camps, 1917 


strong if its citizens are healthy, vigorous, and 
able to defend themselves. 

In the great war with the centrah powers of 
Europe, called the “ World War ”, nearly a million 
men were selected in the United States for service 





32 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


in the war. The draft age for the first year of 
this war was set at from twenty-one to thirty- 
one, and all men of . this age were drafted. From 
the ten million thus drafted the first army was 
selected by use of selective numbers, but the 
selected number was greatly reduced by physical 
disability of many men. Others were exempted 
from service because of dependent families and 
for other reasons. 

> Payment of Taxes. — It is the duty of the citizen 
to be always ready and willing to contribute from 
his own property to the support of the government. 
When we consider all the benefits which come to 
us through the government, we should be willing 
to pay our share of its expenses. Unfortunately, 
some people, in one way or another, avoid the pay¬ 
ment of their just part of the burden of taxation. 
In defrauding the state the citizen defrauds him¬ 
self, because if he does not want to carry the 
burdens, he cannot expect to share the privileges 
of good government. 

Obedience to the Laws. — We have said that 
the government is simply ourselves, the people, 
acting for our common benefit. When the gov¬ 
ernment has made laws, after carefully consider¬ 
ing the needs and welfare of all the people, it is 


SOME DUTIES OF CITIZENS 


33 


our duty to obey those laws absolutely, not from 
fear of punishment if we violate the laws, but 
because by observance of them we are acting for 
the common good. We are a free people because 
we do not have to obey laws which we ourselves 
do not help to make, but our very freedom is 
based upon our responsibility to ourselves to keep 
our community and our country free from disorder 
not only by seeing that others obey the laws but 
by obeying them implicitly ourselves. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What are the disadvantages of an official salary 
that is too small? Of one that is too large? 

2. What are the salaries of some of your town or 
state officers? 

3. How are jurors selected? 

4. What persons are excused from jury service? 

5. Is it proper for a candidate for office to advo¬ 
cate his own election ? 

6. Are “office-seekers’’ good citizens? 

7. What qualities make a man a good juryman? 
A good soldier? A good office-holder? A good 
citizen ? 

8. What is smuggling? Why is it wrong? 

9. In what ways may people fail to give the gov¬ 
ernment the financial support they owe to it ? 

10. Why are some persons excused from jury duty? 


34 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


11. Does the same jury consider all kinds of cases? 
Why not? 

12. What are jurors paid? 

13. Who is the commander-in-chief of the United 
States army? 

14. Find out what per cent of the drafted men in 
your district, in the World War, were not accepted 
because of physical disability. 

15. Who should be excused from military duty? 
What is a “slacker”? 

16. What is a tax? How are taxes levied? 

* 17. Name three kinds of taxes. 

18. What is an income tax? Is an income tax 
justifiable? Why? 


PART II 


WHAT GOVERNMENTS DO 



The House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. 































CHAPTER VI 

MAINTAINING ORDER 

Protection in Feudal Tunes. — We all desire to 
live in peace, to have our homes free from invasion, 
to have our property protected. Only thus may 
we work, travel, and play in comfort and peace. 
But who threatens the order under which we live ? 
In earlier ages society was very insecure. Men 
desired to get what they could, and had little 
respect for one another’s rights. So it was neces¬ 
sary for each one to protect his own by the force 
of his right arm. Sheltered locations were much 
sought after. Men preferred to build their homes 
on high and inaccessible rocks. When we stand 
on the ramparts of one of the castles in Scotland 
or on the Rhine, we realize what protection against 
injury meant in those early days. The man who 
had succeeded in building himself a castle on an 
eminence, well protected with powerful walls and 
battlements, had not only secured safety for him- 
37 


38 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


self and family, but he could also give protection to 
the people of the neighborhood. On his watch- 
towers stood sentinels who could see a hostile 
force approaching from the distance. They could 
give warning to the peasants who were working 
in the fertile fields of the plains and valleys below. 
These would hurry with their wives and children 
up the road to the castle to seek protection within 
its walls. But, for the safety thus gained, they 
had given up their independence to the lord of the 
castle. They worked for him, they brought what 
grain they could produce and what cattle they 
could raise for his use, keeping only enough them¬ 
selves to support a bare existence. Thus protec¬ 
tion against violence is an advantage for which 
men have in many cases given up practically all 
they had. This plan of the service of tenants to 
the lord who owned the land, in return for his 
protection of them, is called the feudal system. 

Cities grew in this fashion. Athens, Corinth, 
Rome, — all the cities of antiquity, — were built 
on steep, high hills. They had their acropolis, a 
word which means a steep city, a fortress on an 
inaccessible hill-top. There stood the temples in 
which the divinities of the city were said to have 
their home. On the lower slopes and on the sur- 


MAINTAINING ORDER 


39 



rounding plains citizens lived, worked, and traded. 
But they could always take refuge within the 
protecting walls of the fortress. As their wealth 
and importance grew, they built outer fortress 


Ruins of a Feudal Castle 

walls enclosing the entire settlement. In the 
Middle Ages all towns were walled in this fashion. 
The citizens thus protected could develop their 
rights of free government. The cities were the 
cradles of modern liberty. They could success¬ 
fully defend themselves against long sieges; al¬ 
though when the force of the opponent was over- 




40 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


powering, they fell, their walls were broken down, 
and the city given over to massacre and destruc¬ 
tion. 

Protection against Criminals. — In our age 

men in general have a greater respect for one 
another’s rights. Castles or city walls are no 
longer needed for protection. Nations, indeed, 
are still building powerful fortresses, but within 
their own territory mutual protection does not 
require castle walls. Castles are relics of a former 
civilization, interesting chiefly for their pictur¬ 
esqueness and for the beautiful views that can 
be enjoyed from their ramparts. Nowadays 
people are protected by the general respect for 
the rights of life and property which pervade 
the entire community. In some parts of the 
country we may live for months without seeing 
a policeman or soldier or any other person whose 
business it is to protect the public. We need 
not be afraid of attacks upon our persons, our 
homes, or our property. 

There are, however, still found in almost every 
community a vicious class who will violate the 
right of others by theft, murder, or other crimes. 
These criminals have the instincts of an earlier 
time in the development of our civilization. 


MAINTAINING ORDER 


41 


They are a menace against which the state is 
under obligation to protect us. This work of 
protection is carried on by the police force and 
other officials who have police powers, such as 
sheriffs and constables in towns. The police 
should be constantly watchful to prevent crime 
and to make its punishment possible by the arrest 
of criminals. A policeman who falls asleep on 
his beat or spends his time at places of amuse¬ 
ment, where he is not stationed by orders of his 
chief, should be dismissed from the service. 
Criminals avoid cities where an efficient police 
exists, but they infest towns where the police is 
inefficient or corrupt. 

As protection against crime and violence is the 
first duty of the government, so no greater evil 
can exist than an alliance between the police and 
criminals, through which criminals are allowed to 
escape in return for a share in their ill-gotten gains. 
It seems impossible that such things can exist; 
and yet when citizens are not watchful greed and 
corruption will sometimes bring about such de¬ 
plorable conditions, 

The Arrest of the Criminal. — When a police¬ 
man has proof that a crime has been committed, 
or that a person has broken the laws, he should 


42 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


at once arrest the criminal. In a country district 
such arrest will usually be made by a sheriff or 
constable. To resist a peace officer is itself a 
crime, so that even if the arrest is illegal, no 
resistance should be made. If the officer is not 
able to handle the criminal or criminals alone, he 
may call in the assistance of any citizens present, 
and the latter are obliged to help in making the 
arrest or in pursuing the fleeing criminal. If a 
citizen should see a crime committed, it is his 
right and duty to arrest the criminal on the spot 
in order to prevent his escape. He may use any 
necessary force in doing this. Here, too, we see 
that the agents of the government are only doing 
the work which we as citizens might do for our¬ 
selves, but which for convenience has been in¬ 
trusted to some designated person. 

No citizen may, however, judge and punish a 
criminal outside of the regular courts. 

Extradition. — Should a criminal escape from 
one state into another, a telegram will be sent 
to the governor of that state or to the police 
in a city asking to have him arrested and extra¬ 
dited. Extradition means the handing over of 
an arrested person by one state to the authorities 
of another.,. 


MAINTAINING ORDER 


43 



Use of the Militia of a State for Protection. — 

Should criminals organize in clubs, or should 
large bodies of the population riot and destroy 
the property and endanger the lives of other 
citizens, the militia of the state may be called 


An Illinois County Court House 

out to assist the peace officers; and when the 
legislature of a state, or governor, if the legisla¬ 
ture is not in session, asks for it, United States 
troops will be sent to help in restoring order. 
The militia and the troops should, however, be 
used only when actual violence is threatened and 
when the ordinary peace officers are plainly un¬ 
able to restore order. 




44 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


Trial of Criminals. — When a criminal has been 
arrested, his trial before a court of the state follows. 
He is first given a preliminary hearing before a 
magistrate, that is, a justice of the peace or a 
municipal judge. After it is found that good 
cause exists for his arrest, he will be bound over 
for trial. The magistrate, if the case is not one of 
murder, will ordinarily permit the accused to go 
free until the time of trial, if he can furnish suffi¬ 
cient bail. Bail may be described as a payment 
of money, or as a promise of such payment, to 
secure the appearance of an accused person at 
trial. If he should meanwhile escape and not 
appear when the trial begins, the money thus paid 
or promised would be forfeited to the state by 
the one who thus “goes bail” for the accused 
person. 

In criminal actions the state itself is the plaintiff. 
It is represented by the prosecuting attorney,who is 
usually called State’s Attorney, Public Prosecutor, 
or District Attorney. He draws up the accusation 
against the accused in proper legal form. He must 
be exceedingly careful in this, because if the crime 
charged is not properly described, the action may 
fail and the criminal may be dismissed by the 
court. When the day for trial comes, the ac- 


MAINTAINING ORDER 


45 


cused is arraigned before the court. He is asked 
whether he pleads guilty or not guilty to the charge 
preferred against him. Should he plead guilty, 
that is, should he admit his guilt openly, the judge 
will immediately pronounce judgment and fix the 
punishment under the law. If he pleads not 
guilty, that is, if he denies his guilt, the trial 
begins. 

The Defense of the Criminal. — The accused 
is entitled to counsel. If he cannot afford to 
pay an attorney himself, the judge will appoint 
some one to defend him. In earlier times, the 
accused was not permitted to bring any counsel 
into the court, and in general he was treated as 
if he were guilty and had to prove his innocence. 
But it was found that many innocent men were 
unjustly condemned and punished under this 
arrangement. In our country we have decided 
to give the accused every possible protection in 
order that he may clear himself if he is not guilty. 
He is allowed counsel. He need not testify 
against himself, though he may testify in his own 
favor. He is presumed not to be guilty until his 
guilt is proven, and it must be proven so strongly 
that no reasonable doubt remains. If he thinks 
the judge will be unfavorable to him, or that the 


46 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


entire neighborhood is strongly prejudiced; he may 
ask to have his case tried in some other county. 
This is called a change of venue. If men who have 
been drawn for the jury do not seem fair to him ; 
he may object to a certain number of them; and 
when the verdict and judgment have been finally 
given, he may appeal to a higher court. Certainly 
the rights of an individual could not be protected 
.more carefully than is done under our laws. It is 
unfortunate that improper advantage is taken of 
this liberality, and that scheming attorneys will 
sometimes shield the guilty by using many legal 
technicalities which our liberal system makes 
possible. 

The Jury. — When it is time for the trial to 
start, the first thing after the accused has pleaded 
not guilty is to select a jury of twelve men to 
decide the question of his innocence or guilt. 
The sheriff or jury commissioners at the begin¬ 
ning of the term of court have prepared a list 
of jurors called a panel. These jurors are called 
up one by one by the clerk of the court. They 
are questioned as to whether they have any 
prejudice in the matter, and if neither the ac¬ 
cused nor the state objects to a juror he is sworn 
in by the clerk of the court, and takes his seat 


MAINTAINING ORDER 


47 


in the jury-box. When twelve men have thus 
been selected, the trial begins. Witnesses are 
examined, the attorneys make their arguments, 
and the judge instructs or charges the jury as to 
what law ought to be applied in the case. After 
this the jurymen retire to a special room, where 
they hold their deliberations. They must agree 
before the verdict can be rendered. Sometimes 
they will sit through days and nights before 
they can come to a decision. If they are so 
hopelessly divided that they can never unite in 
their opinions, they will report to the court that 
they cannot render a verdict, and a new trial 
must take place. As a trial is expensive, it is 
always desirable that juries should give a ver¬ 
dict. When they have united on a verdict, 
they inform the judge, who calls the court to¬ 
gether in the presence of the jury and prisoner. 
They then give the verdict of guilty or not guilty. 
We can imagine the strain that the prisoner is 
under while the case is in the hands of the jury, 
when his freedom or even his life depends upon 
the judgment of these twelve men. 

Evidence of Guilt. — The position of a juryman 
is one of great responsibility. He should be ab¬ 
solutely impartial, and not allow his feelings to 


48 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


injure or favor the accused. While he may feel 
sympathy for the offender, he must remember 
that law and order can be upheld only by the pun¬ 
ishment of criminals. Or if he has a reasonable 
doubt of the guilt of the accused, he should not 
pronounce him guilty, even if there is much 
popular clamor for his conviction. 

It is often difficult to arrive at a judgment on 
circumstantial evidence. Most crimes are com¬ 
mitted in secret, so that direct evidence of the 
crime cannot be given. Sometimes, however, 
circumstantial evidence is as convincing as direct 
evidence. If a man, after a crime had been com¬ 
mitted, should be seen burying a bloody weapon, 
and should thereafter be caught disposing of 
some articles taken from the body of a murdered 
man, his guilt would be presumed, if he could 
not give an entirely satisfactory explanation of 
these unusual acts. Though no one has seen 
him committing the crime, his behavior shows 
that he is guilty. In all such matters the com¬ 
mon sense, honesty, and character of the jury 
must be relied upon. This illustrates how our 
government rests upon the people, and how the 
people must stand back of every law to see that 
it is enforced. 


MAINTAINING ORDER 


49 


The Punishment. — When the jury has re¬ 
turned its verdict, the judge frees the prisoner 
if found not guilty, or pronounces sentence if the 
verdict is guilty and determines the punishment 
of the crime under the law. It is then the privilege 
of the accused to make an appeal from the decision 
of the court to a higher tribunal, where his case 
will be definitely disposed of. 

In the punishment of criminals two objects are 
sought, the protection of society and the reforma¬ 
tion of the crimiifal. In cases where the character 
of the criminal is such that any improvement is 
hopeless, — if, for instance, he has been inhuman 
enough to take the life of another person — some 
commonwealths punish the criminal with death. 
In many states, however, imprisonment for life is 
the most severe punishment. We should, of 
course, consider that criminals are often un¬ 
fortunate beings who have been driven to their 
desperate acts by unhappy conditions, but this 
should not lead us to weakness in dealing with 
them. They must be placed where they cannot 
do any harm. Nevertheless, with all criminals, 
but especially with those guilty of less serious 
crimes, the effort should be made to inflict punish¬ 
ment in such a manner that their character may 


50 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


be improved and that they may be enabled to 
atone for their wrong-doing. Prisoners should 
be given an opportunity to do useful work, and 
every evidence of a desire to reform should be 
recognized and encouraged. When released from 
prison after their term of punishment has ex¬ 
pired, they should be helped to obtain some 
honest occupation, that they may not be driven 
back to a criminal life. 

Criminal laws deal with acts which are directed 
against the safety of all of us. When any man is 
wounded, when his house is invaded by burglars, 
when thieves carry off the property of others, we 
all feel the danger to ourselves, and we demand 
that the government shall protect us against such 
acts and shall punish them as crimes against 
society itself. 

Unjust Arrest. — The law also protects innocent 
persons against unjust arrest or imprisonment. 
When the liberty of any person is restrained, his 
friends may go before any judge and get from him 
a writ of habeas corpus (Latin for “ You may have 
the body ”)• This writ is a command of the court 
directing the sheriff or other person under whose 
control the prisoner may be to bring him before 
the court and to show for what reason he is impris- 


MAINTAINING ORDER 


51 


oned. If no legal cause can be shown, the judge 
will then immediately set free the prisoner thus 
illegally restrained. In times of war the privilege 
of the writ of habeas corpus may be temporarily 
suspended. It is a great protection to the liberty 
of citizens against official tyranny or unjust 
persecution, that the legality of an arrest can 
thus at any time be tested. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Define feudal; acropolis; plaintiff; defendant; 
bail; extradite; venue; panel; habeas corpus. 

2. What are some of the qualities that make a good 
policeman? A good judge? 

3^ What are some of the influences that make 
criminals ? Can you name some public influences 
planned to offset these? 

4. How may crime be prevented? 

5. What connection, if any, is there between 
truancy and crime? Intemperance and crime? 

6. What is the business of a juvenile court? 

7. What is a reform school? An indeterminate 
sentence ? 

8. What is capital punishment? Is it justifiable? 

9. What is lynch law? 

10. How do you discriminate between a crime and 
a misdemeanor? 

11. What are the duties of a sheriff? A constable? 


52 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


12. Why were juvenile courts established? Have 
they helped any boys or girls to become better men and 
women ? How ? 

13. Is a person guilty because arrested? What is 
“reasonable doubt”? 

14. What is “ circumstantial evidence ” ? 

15. Why should criminals be punished? 


CHAPTER VII 

PROTECTION OF THE CITIZENS 

Protection of Property. — The government not 
only protects us against the acts of criminals; 
but it also protects our property and our health. 
One of the best-known departments of a city 
government is the fire department. Firemen are 
paid by the city for watching over the property 
of citizens and protecting it against destruction 
by fire. If a fire alarm is given, they must im¬ 
mediately hasten with their apparatus to the 
scene of the fire and extinguish it. They are 
under the command of the chief of the depart¬ 
ment, who controls their action as a general 
does an army. In smaller places fire companies 
are made up of citizens who volunteer to do this 
service for the people. It is inspiring to see these 
brave and fearless men at a great fire imperil then- 
own lives to save lives and property of others. 

Protection of Health. — Another service which 
the government performs is the protection of 
53 


54 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


health. On the national frontier and at the great 
seaports quarantine stations are established. No 
persons are admitted to our country who are suf¬ 
fering from an epidemic or infectious disease. It 
is not sufficient, however, to prevent the importa¬ 
tion of disease, but we must also fight it in our 
own communities. This is done by health officers 
appointed by governments of cities and states. 
Teople suffering from contagious or infectious 
diseases should be isolated; that is, they should 
be placed where they will not come in contact 
with other persons to whom the disease might be 
communicated. People always dislike to go to a 
contagious hospital, and the family of the sick 
person sometimes oppose his removal to such a 
place. If this precaution is not taken, however, 
the disease may soon spread to other members of 
the family and among the neighbors. The only 
safety lies in the prompt isolation of the patient. 
At a good hospital one has more effective care 
than is possible even at home, so that recovery is 
generally more rapid. 

Health officers take many other measures de¬ 
signed to protect the life and health of the public. 
All their requirements should be respected, for 
their observance, though inconvenient at the 


PROTECTION OF THE CITIZENS 


55 


time, will protect us as well as others from much 
trouble and suffering. 

Personal Rights. — Though a man may not do 
direct violence to our person or destroy or injure 
our property, his actions may, nevertheless, be so 
injurious to us that we will not suffer them with¬ 
out complaint. Thus, he may refuse to fulfill 
his promise, or to pay for goods bought from us; 
he may allow his cattle to pasture on our land; 
or he may tell falsehoods about us that injure our 
reputation. When such acts as these are not 
accompanied by direct violence or disorderly 
conduct, the state will not itself punish them 
by fine or imprisonment. They are not crimes 
against the state, but wrongs (or torts) against 
individuals. In such cases, the offender may be 
compelled to make good whatever damage his 
act has caused. The state will assist its citizens 
in obtaining justice under such circumstances. 
The courts are open to any who wish to bring 
action against those who have infringed upon 
their legal rights. 

The duties that we owe our fellow-citizens and 
neighbors are not only recognized by our own 
sense of justice, but they are also defined and 
enforced by the laws of the state. These laws 


56 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


must be in accordance with the public conscience 
as to what is right and wrong. They ought 
not to forbid actions which are harmless in them¬ 
selves simply because they are not pleasing to 
certain persons, nor ought they to allow acts to 
be committed by which any citizen will suffer 
injury. 

Our Neighbors’ Rights. — It is the law of the 

, land that we must fulfill contracts which we have 
made. When we have promised to carry out a 
certain piece of work, or to rent lands or a house 
to another, or to sell him certain goods or to pay 
him a certain purchase price, we are bound in law 
to do as we have promised. We must also be 
considerate of the property rights, the health, 
and reputation of our fellow-citizens. We must 
not wantonly trespass upon their property, doing 
injury thereto. They have a right to forbid hunt¬ 
ing or the picking of flowers upon their land. 
In fact, whenever we go upon the land of another 
person, we do it really without any right, and we 
should be careful not to do any injury to trees or 
fences or buildings. It is also wrong to do any 
act which injures the health of others, such as 
throwing refuse where it may become injurious. 
A man’s good name or reputation is his most 


PROTECTION OF THE CITIZENS 57 

valuable possession. We must not say anything 
to injure the reputation of anyone. It is, there¬ 
fore, a great wrong to accuse him falsely of having 
done disreputable or criminal acts. 

All such wrongful acts as these are called torts, 
and they may be punished by the courts. The 
person bringing the action is called the 'plaintiff. 
The one of whom he complains is called the 
defendant. Both persons usually have attorneys, 
although in lower courts they often state their 
own case without any such help. If either party 
desires it, the case may be tried before a jury. 
In a justice court, six or twelve men make up the 
jury. In the higher courts it numbers twelve 
men, just like the jury in criminal cases. If the 
court decides for the plaintiff, it condemns the 
defendant to the payment of a certain sum of 
money by way of damages. This money is not 
like a fine in a criminal court. A fine for criminal 
action goes to the state. In a civil action, how¬ 
ever, the damages are paid to the plaintiff. 

Action at Law to be Avoided. — A fair-minded 
citizen will not begin an action at law before he 
has attempted to settle the case outside of court. 
Most cases can thus be settled if both parties are 
reasonable. They will find a common meeting 


58 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


ground, a solution of the difficulty, which satisfies 
both. However, if one entirely disregards our 
rights and seems to wish to trample on them, it 
will be a great weakness on our part if we do not 
stand up for what is just. In such a case we are 
not only defending our own rights, but those of 
all other citizens. If we should weakly submit to 
wrong, the rights of others would also soon be 
.attacked. It is only by defending our rights at 
all times against encroachment that we can se¬ 
cure and protect them. Sometimes we feel that 
it is less trouble to submit to injury, but it is 
always better to be firm in resisting wrong. Once 
when Mark Twain returned to New York City 
from Europe, a hack driver tried to exact from 
him four or five times the regular fare. The 
author was in haste, his time was valuable, and 
so the driver thought that it would be easy to 
impose upon him. But he had mistaken his man. 
The passenger insisted that the driver take him 
to the police headquarters. There he paid the 
rogue his regular fare, but made complaint of 
him for his exactions, and insisted upon his 
punishment for breaking the city ordinance. 
In speaking of this occurrence, Mark Twain 
said, “We can preserve great rights only by 


PROTECTION OF THE CITIZENS 


59 


standing up for little rights.” Where everybody 
is too busy to resist injustice, the time may come 
when justice will be forgotten, and personal rights 
will be ignored. 

Imprisonment for Debt. — In former times, and 
not so very long ago, those who refused to pay 
their lawful debts were imprisoned. In our 
country we do not punish debtors in that way. 
We consider it better that such persons should 
be at liberty and be able to earn something 
in order that they may eventually pay their 
debts. However, if a man should in obtaining 
money or goods from another person make en¬ 
tirely false statements of fact, he is guilty of 
a crime, — that of obtaining money or goods 
under false pretenses. For this wrong he may 
be imprisoned. 


QUESTIONS 

1. What would you do if some one arrested you 
without cause? 

2. What is the meaning of an oath in a law court? 
What is the punishment of false witnesses? 

3. What work does the clerk of the court do? 

4. Should firemen and policemen be pensioned? 

5. Is it right to play ball or to snowball in the 
public streets? Give your reason. 


60 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


6. Should a man be forced to pay his just debts if 
he is able to do so ? How can this be done ? 

7. Define tort; quarantine; insurance; bankrupt; 
contagious; compromise. 

8. What is the difference between a civil and a 
criminal court? 

9. What are the duties of a Board of Health ? Why 
is such a board necessary? 


CHAPTER VIII 


EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 

A Fundamental Principle. — In most modern 
countries, and especially in our own, it is one of 
the principles upon which the state is founded 
that all the people should be trained sufficiently 
to do their own thinking and to be able to take 
a part in government as intelligent voters. A 
republican state must be founded upon the in¬ 
telligence of its people. It is, therefore, essential 
that education should be open and free to all. 
It is because the state cannot do its work without 
intelligent citizens that it has itself undertaken 
the work of education. This work is supple¬ 
mented by private schools, but in the main 
education in our country is free. Education 
tends to make all men equal. If they have 
mental powers that fit them for great success 
in law or in some other profession, or if they 
have talents for invention or for engineering, 
these natural gifts are developed by the schools. 

61 


62 CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



* >:<^* 

* w 



b& 

H *' 

Y f - J* 


• 




G ; 




>■ 

*”->* 



A Group of New York High Schools 



















































EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 


63 


The Common Schools. — The public school is a 
democratic institution. All kinds of children are 
here brought together. Their parents may be 
rich or poor, they may be English, Italian, Ger¬ 
man, Irish, or Russian, — to the state they are all 
alike. Their opportunities are the same, and the 
same care is given to their education. Fine, large, 
airy school buildings kept clean and neat within 
should be provided for all. Attractive pictures 
and statuary should make it a pleasure to be with¬ 
in their walls, a pleasure that will be long remem¬ 
bered. Teachers trained in public institutions 
provided for that purpose, should be in charge and 
every facility offered for a complete education. 

The schools are entirely under public control. 
In school elections in many of our states where 
they cannot vote in the general elections, women 
have a right to vote as well as men. This 
right is given them because they have a special 
interest in the training of children, and under¬ 
stand the best methods of education. The 
schools of a city or town are in charge of a school 
board elected by the people or appointed by the 
mayor. This board appoints the teachers, makes 
regulations for the schools, and administers their 
affairs. It makes contracts for new buildings; 


64 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


it selects teachers; it decides upon textbooks; 
and it provides whatever may be needed for the 
efficient working of the schools. In fact, every 
interest connected with school work is controlled 



Gibson Hall, University of Virginia 


by this body. The excellence of the system of 
education in any town depends largely upon the 
intelligence and public spirit of the school board. 
The official director of the schools in the city or 
town is the superintendent. 

Advanced Schools. — The higher branches of 
learning are taught in high schools, normal schools, 









EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 65 

universities, etc. Many of the great universities 
are private institutions, but nearly all the states, 
especially in the western part of our country, have 
universities supported by the public. In these 


University Hall, Madison, Wisconsin 

every variety of training adapted for the develop¬ 
ment of the varied talents of men and women is 
offered. In former times, universities existed 
apart from the life of the people. They devoted 
themselves to special refinement and to the study 
of difficult subjects. To-day, however, especially 







66 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


in our own country, the university is a part of 
the life of the people. It interests itself in the 
general welfare of the state. It works to improve 
the agriculture, the manufacturing activities, the 
engineering work, the health, the power, of the 
commonwealth. It exists for every citizen. If 
he has not the leisure to go to the university for 
a period to work there in person, he may receive 
instruction by letter, his questions will be an¬ 
swered, and advice will be given. Lecturers may 
also be sent by the university to various cities 
and towns of the state, where, in public discus¬ 
sions, they inform the people about things that 
are being done in the world of science. 

Public Libraries. — Another great educational 
influence in our country comes from public libra¬ 
ries. Nearly every town now has an institution 
of this kind. There we can get stories and books 
of travel to provide entertainment for long winter 
evenings. We can also find books which will 
inform us about the history of our own and of 
other nations, about our political institutions, 
about the facts of science, and about many other 
important and useful matters. In every home 
there should be a library of the books that are 
dearest and most useful to the members of the 


EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 


67 


family, but we can none of us own all the books 
we need. The public library enables us to get at 
any time the information required for our pur¬ 
pose. We can use it for preparing debates or 
papers for clubs. Very often entertaining and 
useful lectures are given at the library. 



Carnegie Library, Nashville, Tennessee 


Mr. Carnegie, a man who lacked the advan¬ 
tages of an education in his early youth, but 
who later became very successful and immensely 
rich, has given a large number of libraries to our 
country. He has said that it was his purpose 
that other people should be able to have the 
advantages which he lacked. He believes most 
thoroughly in the importance of general educa¬ 
tion for the welfare of our country. Such public 









68 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


gifts are laudable, but it would be unfortunate 
if the people of this country were to rely entirely 
on gifts of this nature. That has greatest value 
which costs us time and labor and self-denial. 
If some generous man has provided our town 
with a library building, we should make use of 



New York Public Library 


the opportunity and give liberal support to the 
library itself, in order that it may make the life 
of our neighborhood better in every way. 

It is one of the most beneficent features of 
modern civilization that the best things in life, 
and the most interesting, can be brought to us 
wherever we live. It is not necessary that we 
live in New York or Chicago in order to get the 







EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS 


69 


latest news every morning, or to be able to read 
the great works of literature, or to hear fine 
music and see beautiful pictures. All these 
things are brought to us, even in the remotest 
parts of our country, through the inventions by 
which distance has been annihilated and the 
reproduction of works of art has been made 
possible. So the library in every town ought 
to be the center of interest in the wonderful 
achievements which it is our privilege to enjoy. 
How unfortunate, and how unmindful of its own 
good, is the community which does not provide 
for the enjoyment of art, literature, music, and 
all the gracious influences that this marvellous 
age possesses. 

Inventions. — The American nation is noted 
for its talent for invention. We readily recall 
many notable inventions that were made in this 
country. We need only think of the steam- 
engine, the telegraph, and the telephone. This 
talent for invention is perhaps due to the fact 
that our nation found itself in a new and exten¬ 
sive territory, under novel conditions which 
brought- out the power to adapt our action to 
our needs and to fit ourselves with new means 
of supplying them. This talent is cultivated by 


70 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


institutions of learning. While they cannot create 
genius in a man, they can give him the materials 
wherewith to work. They can teach him what 
other people have already achieved and along 
what lines new enterprises will be most promising. 

QUESTIONS 

1. How large is the income of the public library in 
your town, and how is this income provided? 

2. Is your school board elected or appointed? 
Name its members. 

3. Should all children be required by law to go to 
school, and is there such a law in your state? 

4. What is the legal school age in your state? 

5. Should school books be furnished without cost 
to pupils? Why, or why not? 

6. Is free education beyond the high school fur¬ 
nished in your state ? Ought it to be ? 

7. What kind of books are most profitable for 
young people to read? 

8. What is a self-educated man ? 

9. How much money is paid annually to support 

the schools of your city or town ? ' 

10. What does it cost the city or town for your 
schooling for a year? 


CHAPTER IX 

PUBLIC CHARITIES 

Caring for the Poor. — Not all the members of 
a community are healthy and fortunate. Every¬ 
where there are those who through misfortune 
or sickness have been reduced to a state of de¬ 
pendence. Sometimes this may be their own 
fault. When young and strong and able to wqrk, 
they may have neglected their opportunities or 
wasted their money. When sickness or old age 
came, they could not provide for themselves. 
As we benefit from the industry and wisdom of 
able and fortunate citizens, so we should be will¬ 
ing to bear the burden of those who have been 
unsuccessful in life, especially when they are not 
responsible for their misfortunes. 

Private benevolence is doing much for such 
unfortunate people. It is the duty of a family 
if they can to support relatives who are unable 
to help themselves. It is unnatural for a son to 
allow the father who has given him support in 
his youth to suffer from poverty when old. For- 
71 


72 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



tunately, such things rarely happen. Many poor 
people not only support relatives, but also give 
to other deserving poor, enabling them to tide 
over times of misfortune. It is not wise to give 


Children’s School Yard 

aid to every one who asks it. An able-bodied man 
should not be supported in idleness by the charities 
of good-natured people. He should be made to 
earn his living. But it is different with people who 
suffer from-disease or other misfortunes. To help 
in such cases is a work of humanity. 




PUBLIC CHARITIES 


73 


The state must undertake to provide for the 
poor, weak, and sick who are not supported by 
their families or by private charity. Children 
left without their parents must be placed in 
homes where they will be given care and educa¬ 
tion. Those who become insane must be placed 
in asylums, the sick in hospitals, the aged 
poor in homes provided for them. Many in¬ 
stitutions of this kind are supported by private 
charity, especially hospitals and orphan asylums. 
The insane are usually taken care of by the 
state. 

How to care for the poor is not an easy prob¬ 
lem. Many of those who most deserve assistance 
are too modest or too proud to ask for it. They 
would rather die than go to a poorhouse, al¬ 
though there is no disgrace in poverty when it 
is a pure misfortune. The aid given to the poor 
is often given in public houses and on farms, 
where all the indigent persons who are depend¬ 
ent upon the community are gathered together. 
By helping about the house and by working on 
the farm, they are made to assist in earning their 
own living. Another method is called outdoor 
relief. This refers to the distribution of fuel, 
clothing, and food among the poor. If this 


74 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



system is not managed wisely, it will make 
paupers of many people. Those weak in char¬ 
acter and with little self-respect will prefer not 
to work, but to rely upon the town or city to 


Hospital, Seattle, Washington 

provide them with the necessities of life. Much 
harm has been done by this system in England. 
A better method is to give relief to poor people 
in their homes upon the advice of responsible 
men in the neighborhood who know the situa¬ 
tion thoroughly, and who can thus assist the 






PUBLIC CHARITIES 


75 


city officials in their work. Some American 
communities are working toward this plan and 
it is found good. 

The most desirable condition for a state or 
community is to have citizens who are neither 
very rich nor very poor. A self-reliant, inde¬ 
pendent class who have sufficient income for a 
comfortable living must be the mainstay of a 
free republic. As a nation, we should be a great 
family taking care of our poor. It is to be hoped 
that in the future neither the very poor nor the 
very rich will predominate, but that the nation 
may continue to be a nation of citizens inde¬ 
pendent and self-supporting. 

Other Charities. — Hospitals and asylums for 
the insane, the blind, and other unfortunates are 
found in abundance in our country. Many are 
supported by private gifts and by income from 
their patients. Others are maintained entirely 
at the public expense, and still others jointly by 
these two agencies. The generous provision 
made for the care and comfort of the poor and of 
the unfortunate classes in the community marks 
the highest advance in our civilization. It shows 
the growing spirit of brotherhood and the com¬ 
mon bond of sympathy and good-will that char- 


76 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


acterize and unite the people in these modern 
times. The influence of our nation is gradually 
extending these and kindred blessings through¬ 
out the world. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What institutions for the care of the sick, poor, 
and insane are there in your city or county ? 

2. What is done in your community to protect 
animals against cruelty? 

3. 'What are some of the causes of poverty? 

4. W T hat should be done with able-bodied tramps? 

5. Which is of greater value, a hospital or a public 
library ? 

6. Is it right to exclude immigrants who come to 
this country with no money whatever? 

7. Ought we to exclude immigrants who cannot 
read and write? 

8. Is an old-age pension expedient ? 

9. Are people always made better by receiving 
charity? Why not? 

10. Why should the public maintain hospitals and 
asylums ? 

11. How is a person adjudged insane ? 


CHAPTER X 

THE HIGHWAYS 

Good Roads. — It has been said that the 
civilization of a country can be measured by 
the excellence of its roads. If we should travel 
in certain parts of England to-day, some com¬ 
panion might remark, “ We are now traveling 
on Watling Street. ” This is an old Roman 
road built over two thousand years ago. The 
Romans built these excellent highways, which 
were as straight and level as a modern railway 
road-bed, in order that their troops might march 
rapidly from one part of the empire to the other. 
They built them in so solid a manner that though 
the surface has required repair from time to time, 
the substructure of the road is as sound as it. 
ever was. Still for centuries and centuries to 
come man will be able to use these great works 
of Roman civilization. 

Although we have railways, steel-bound roads 
over which trains are hurrying from one end of 
77 


78 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


the - country to the other, we also need other 
highways better than have been constructed 
heretofore in our country. The products which 
are hauled over our roads exceed in value those 
that are carried by railway. Yet, consider what 
inconvenience it is to farmers to drive for ten 
or twelve miles over roads which during many 
periods in the year are almost bottomless. Money 
expended to improve these highways will certainly 
bring^ abundant returns. Not only will farmers 
and men who haul lumber and building stone 
benefit from such improvements, but they will 
be an advantage to every person living in the 
land. Automobiles will, perhaps, soon be so in¬ 
expensive that nearly every one will be able to 
afford what has been a luxury. We may then 
enjoy the delights of travel among the beautiful 
lakes, mountains, and forests of our common¬ 
wealth. Nothing brings more joy and health 
than life out of doors, and good roads will attract 
people to spend more time with nature. In the 
use of roads we should, of course, be careful of 
the rights of others. A man who drives an auto¬ 
mobile on a public highway as if he were on a 
private speedway deserves severe treatment. 
Every one of us is interested in having speed 


THE HIGHWAYS 


79 



Sub-grade formed with Road Machine 



First Course of Stone laid on Sub-grade 



Finished Road 













80 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



limits observed, for otherwise no one could use 
the roads in safety and comfort. 

Country Roads and City Streets. — In country 
districts the care of roads is usually in the hands 


By Courtesy of Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad. 

Railroad Bridge over Ohio River between Paducah, 
Kentucky, and Metropolis, Illinois 


of towns or county officials. These roads are 
not often scientifically built; but the tax-paying 
citizens get together and work off their road tax 
or poll-tax by making improvements under the 
direction of the official whose duty it is to over- 




THE HIGHWAYS 


81 


see road work. There is need of more instruc¬ 
tion in road making, so that the work will be 
permanently useful. The building of streets in 
cities is a more difficult matter, because such 
streets are in constant use, and so need to be far 
more durable than country roads. The right kind 
of pavement must be selected and care must be 
taken that the streets are kept in good repair. 

Clean Streets. — Nothing presents a more un¬ 
pleasant aspect than a town with neglected 
streets, filled with rubbish heaps and weeds, 
blocked up by boxes and wood-piles. It does 
not take a traveler long to form an opinion 
of the character of the inhabitants of such a 
place, especially if he comes from a town where 
the streets are kept clean, where weeds are not 
allowed to grow, where ashes and rubbish are 
removed promptly, and where in business streets 
the pavement and the sidewalks are kept clear 
of boxes and crates. The appearance of streets 
is very much improved by shade trees and strips 
of lawn. There should be some system in plant¬ 
ing trees. Some streets might have elms, others 
maples, others walnuts. They should be planted 
at proper distances apart. It is, therefore, desir¬ 
able that there should be in every town or city 


82 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


some official familiar with landscape gardening, 
who can advise the people upon the best arrange¬ 
ment of parks, trees, and lawns. 

The city or town is our home just as much as 
the house in which we live. As we take pride 
in having our rooms swept and clean, our houses 
painted, our lawns clear of leaves and rubbish, 



A Public Park 

4 

so no less should we take pride in beautifying 
our city or village. Attractive surroundings 
make every hour of our lives more enjoyable. 

Parks and Playgrounds. — Parks are to a city 
what a flower-garden is to a home. They do not 
bring any income, but in the enjoyment which 
the people get from them they pay many times 
over for any outlay of money which they may 
require. Some of our large cities have very ex- 



THE HIGHWAYS 


83 


tensive park systems. Central Park in New 
York, Lincoln Park in Chicago, Fairmount Park 
in Philadelphia, are extensive grounds beautified 
by trees, shrubs, and flowers, with lakes, water¬ 
falls, and fountains to furnish variety, and col¬ 
lections of wild animals to lend interest. In 
many parks monuments are found erected to 
statesmen and other citizens who have been 
benefactors of the community. Great poets and 
writers whose works have given joy and strength 
are also honored in this way. 

Many cities throughout the country are pro¬ 
viding playgrounds for children. These are fur¬ 
nished with gymnastic apparatus, swimming- 
pools, and a full equipment for games and sport 
of all'kinds. Large sums of money are raised to 
maintain these playgrounds. Fresh air, regulated 
amusement, and wise physical exercise are recog¬ 
nized as necessary to health. 

Streets, parks, libraries, public picture galleries, 
are our property. They exist for our advantage. 
In former times the palace of the lord had a beau¬ 
tiful park adjoining it. In the high halls within 
he accumulated paintings and art treasures, but 
no one was admitted to see these beautiful things 
unless he was a friend of the owner. To-day the 


84 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



people themselves own palaces of this kind. The 
library buildings, the art galleries, the museums, 
are palaces as beautiful in architecture as any 
that may be found. Here the people are at home. 


Children’s Playground in Central Park, New York 

These beautiful buildings exist for our advantage. 
But as we own them we must also take care of 
them, preserve their beauty intact, make use of 
the advantages they offer, and be willing to sup¬ 
port them by our own contributions. 

QUESTIONS 

1. How far do you think that the states should 
support and control the building of country roads? 



THE HIGHWAYS 


85 


2. Would it be better if people paid their road tax 
in money instead of working it off ? 

3. Why are our country roads generally so poor? 

4. What would you do if a telephone or electric- 
light company should want to cut down a favorite 
tree in the street in front of your house, in order to 
make room for a pole for wires ? 

5. How are ashes and garbage disposed of in your 
town? 

6. Are the streets which you use kept clean and 
free from rubbish? 

7. What is the condition of the grounds around 
your schoolhouse? Suggest some improvements. 

8. What do you think of an organization among 
school children to aid in keeping streets clean and 
making school grounds attractive? 

9. What are some arguments in favor of public 
playgrounds ? 

10. Why should free baths and gymnasiums be 
furnished at public expense? 

11. Make a list of the monuments erected in honor 
of famous men, which you have seen. 

12. What advantages do good roads give the 
farmers? 

13. Are you doing your part in keeping the streets 
of your city clean? 

14. What can you do to bring about cleaner streets ? 
Will you try? 


CHAPTER XI 


PUBLIC WORKS IN CITIES 

City Compared with Country. — If we lived in 
the country, we would depend upon wells for 
water fof domestic uses. For light we would 
burn kerosene, or possibly acetylene. Horses 
would furnish our means of getting from place 
to place. In cities, however, these methods 
have been set aside, and united action has given 
us what is better. Our water is supplied from 
distant reservoirs and brought through pipes to 
our houses. Gas or electricity from some public 
source of supply furnishes us a brilliant light. 
Electric cars carry us quickly wherever we wish 
to go at small cost. All these things become so 
necessary that we cannot get along without them. 
A street railway president was once asked what 
a person should do when the railways charge too 
much. He answered, “ Let him walk.” That 
was not a fair answer, because under the condi¬ 
tions of city life most people are obliged to use 


PUBLIC WORKS IN CITIES 


87 


the electric cars. Some of these public works 
have been built and are maintained by the com¬ 
munity itself. Most cities own their waterworks 
and supply water at fixed rates to the people. 



The Dam, on Mississippi River, Keokuk, Iowa 


The cities also construct sewers through which 
the waste is carried off. 

Public Franchises. — Private companies or cor¬ 
porations, however, generally supply the public 
with light, transportation, telephones, etc. They 
secure the right to furnish these things through 
what is called a charter or franchise. A franchise 
ma,y be defined as the contract of a city or town 
with a corporation by which the latter is giyen 
the right to use the public streets for railway 








88 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


tracks, electric-light and telephone poles, and 
similar purposes. Through the franchise the 
corporation is also authorized to charge a cer¬ 
tain price for its service to the public. It will 
readily be seen that the proper fulfillment of 
these contracts is very important. It makes a 
great difference whether the light furnished us is 
poor and expensive or of good quality and cheap, 
and it is essential that street-cars should be clean, 
the service regular and rapid, and the fare reason¬ 
able. We are, therefore, greatly interested in the 
contracts which our city government makes with 
public corporations. These contracts should be 
publicly made so that the people may know 
about them and have the opportunity of criti¬ 
cising them. Franchises are valuable possessions, 
and they should not be granted for an indefi¬ 
nite time without a proper return. The fran¬ 
chise should provide for fair rates and good 
service, as well as for safety appliances by which 
accidents may be prevented. 

Public Utilities Commissions. — In some states 
public utilities commissions have been created. 
If we are dissatisfied with the service given by 
a public service corporation, if our electric lights 
will not burn, if the street-cars do not run on 


PUBLIC WORKS IN CITIES 


89 


time, if unreasonable rates are charged, we can 
appeal to this commission and bring our com¬ 
plaint before it. The corporations which invest 
their money in such industries should, of course, 
be protected so that they may receive a fair 
return upon their investment. But they should 
not be permitted to tax the people for services 
which have never been performed or for values 
which have no real existence. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What public works are being managed by your 
city or town government ? 

2. Should the city manage the gas and electric light 
plants ? 

3. Could the street railways use steam locomotives? 

4. Where is the drinking water in your house ob¬ 
tained? What does it cost you? 

5. What kind of light do you have in your home, 
and how and where is it produced ? 

6. What is a franchise? How is one obtained? 


CHAPTER XII 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC WEALTH: 

WATERWAYS 

Our Natural Resources. — Nature has endowed 
our country with almost unequaled wealth in 
forests, mines, agricultural lands, and other 
natural resources. We ought not, however, to 
act as if this -wealth were inexhaustible. As a 
matter of fact, very much of it has already been 
wasted and carelessly destroyed. The prices of 
commodities like lumber are already very much 
higher than they should be in a new country. 
This is due to the fact that the timber was not 
properly protected, so that forest fires, started 
by negligence, were allowed to destroy millions 
of dollars’ worth of fine timber. The time has 
now come when our nation is beginning to take 
far greater care of its natural wealth. It is 
protecting its timber, replanting its forests, 
and giving attention to the proper use of min¬ 
eral and agricultural lands. 

90 


THE DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC WEALTH 91 



Transportation. — Nothing is more important 
to the development of the wealth of a country 
than cheap transportation. If machinery can be 
carried inexpensively to the mines and forests, 


Yellow Pine Forest, California 

and the products of the latter can be returned to 
the large cities, the centers of industry, the wealth 
and comfort of the people may be increased. 
Railways are the main reliance for transporta¬ 
tion, but they can never be so inexpensive as the 
natural roads provided by rivers and the Great 









92 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


Lakes, and by canals built by engineering enter¬ 
prise. The Mississippi River, with all its tribu¬ 
taries, the Columbia River, the Hudson, the 
Erie Canal, and the Great Lakes, are only some 
of the most important of such waterways. To 
give some idea of the amount of merchandise 
carried in this way, it will be sufficient to say 
that the amount of shipping which goes through 
Lake Huron is several times the amount of 
shipping that goes out of the great port of New 
York. It is, therefore, plain that the improve¬ 
ment of such waterways is greatly to be desired. 
The work of improving these waterways is under¬ 
taken chiefly by the national government, which 
also improves our harbors and constructs our 
harbor works. Whether the harbor is on a river, 
like New Orleans, or a lake, like Milwaukee, or 
on the ocean, like San Diego, the cost of improve¬ 
ments, dredging and marking the channel, build¬ 
ing breakwaters, piers, and jetties, is borne by 
the nation as a whole. 

Lighthouses. — The nation also provides for 
the safety of the coasts by the construction and 
maintenance of lighthouses. Every headland, 
the entrance to every harbor, every prominent 
or dangerous point on the Great Lakes, has its 


THE DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC WEALTH 93 

light to warn and guide the mariner. These 
beacons vary in construction and character. 
They are marked on sailing charts, and are 
of priceless value. 

Indeed, without 
them the naviga¬ 
tion of the coasts, 
the lakes, and the 
rivers would be im¬ 
possible. 

They are built 
and supported by 
the government at 
an annual expense 
of millions. There 
are more than 
14,000 aids to nav¬ 
igation in this 
country, including 
5000 lights, 1800 
being post lights 
used chiefly on rivers, and 500 fog signals. They 
are of inestimable value in preserving life and 
property. 

Life-saving Service. — The United States gov¬ 
ernment also maintains the life-saving service. 



A Lighthouse 




94 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



There are over two hundred and seventy stations 
on the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific, 

and the Great 


Lakes. To sup¬ 
port these costs 
$5,000,000 a year. 
But in one year, 
1916, the service 
assisted 15,742 
persons on board 
vessels, and saved 
over $10,000,000 
worth of property. 

In a life-saving 
station a member 
of the crew is al¬ 
ways in the look¬ 
out tower search¬ 
ing with the aid 
of strong glasses 
for any signal of 
distress. Others 
patrol the shore 
for the same purpose. Should a vessel be in 
danger at night, it will send up sky-rockets as a 
call for help. As soon as a vessel in this con- 


Breeches-buoy Drill 
Man being taken off wreck 



THE DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC WEALTH 95 

dition is discovered, the life-saving crew mans the 
life-boat and rows out to the ship to rescue those 
in peril. Sometimes the sea is so rough or the 
breakers are so high that no boat can reach the 
ship. Then a rope is attached to a heavy copper 
ball and shot from the shore over the ship, so that 
it may be caught in the rigging. This rope is 
then fastened taut to the masts and to a post on 
shore, an air-ring is slung to it, and by pulling the 
appliance back and forth between the boat and the 
shore those on the ship are brought safely to the 
land. All the operations of the life-saving service 
require great promptness, courage, coolness, and 
skill. 


QUESTIONS 

1. Name some of the means of transportation used 
in various parts of the world. 

2. Which are the two most important ? 

3. Which of these is the cheaper, and why? 

4. Mention some of the principal waterways of the 
United States. 

5. Show the value of the proposed waterway from 
Chicago to New Orleans. 

6. What are some of the essentials of a good 
harbor ? 

7. Find out the different kinds of lighthouses and 
lights used in them. 


96 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


8. What are bell-buoys? Fog whistles? Post 
lights ? 

9. Which is of greater value, the lighthouse or the 
life-saving service? 

10. What are some of the qualities required of men 
in these two kinds of public service? 

11. What is the use of a lock in a canal? 

12. Contrast the commerce which passes through 
the Panama Canal with that which passes through 
the Erie Canal. 


CHAPTER XIII 


FORESTS 

The Value of Forests. — One of the greatest 
sources of wealth in a country consists of its 
forests. Not only do forests furnish material for 
houses, ships, furniture, railways, firewood, etc., 
but large forest areas also preserve the rainfall 
and keep the rivers from drying up. They make 
the rainfall regular, so that the country does not 
suffer from long periods of drought, which are so 
destructive to the products of the farm. The 
territory of the United States was originally 
covered with vast forests. Many valuable kinds 
of timber abounded, — pine, fir, hemlock, oak, 
and others. When the settlers entered these 
primeval forests, they destroyed large sections by 
fire in older to get land for farming. As a nation 
needs a large amount of farm land, this action of 
the early settlers was necessary. As our nation 
grew, much timber was needed for houses, bridges, 
and other purposes. 


97 


98 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


Destruction of Forests. — The forests were in 
large part sold by the government to citizens 
and corporations. These owners desired to make 
money as fast as possible. They, therefore, at 



Lodgepole Pine, Obegon 
Result of a careless fire. — Reforestation 


once cut down the timber, and did not replace 
the trees by planting. Moreover, they were not 
able to guard the forests properly against fires. 
Forest fires, starting perhaps from a carelessly 
laid camp fire of hunters, swept over the area of 
whole counties, destroying timber to the value of 













FORESTS 


99 



many million dollars in a few days. If such 
utter wastefulness and lack of care should con¬ 
tinue, the nation would soon be robbed of all its 
forest wealth. 

Forest Reserves. — Successive presidents of the 
United States took up this matter and urged 


Stock-raising on Irrigated Land, Idaho 

legislation upon Congress by which our forests 
would be protected. Large national forest reserves 
were created. These forest reserves comprise an 
area of over one hundred thousand square miles, 
larger than the states of Wisconsin and Illinois 




100 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


taken together. These reserves are watched over 
by men called rangers, employed by the govern¬ 
ment. The careless laying of fires is entirely 
forbidden, and people who endanger the forests 
by carelessness will be punished. 

The timber on these forest reserves is sold to 
individuals or corporations at a fixed price. They 
may cut it and carry it off to be sawed into lumber. 
The government plants new trees in the place of 
those which have been cut down, so that an after¬ 
growth of timber will always keep up the original 
value of the land. These forest reserves are so 
located that they protect the head waters of our 
great rivers and secure a uniform flow of water 
throughout the year. 

If farmers desire to settle in the forest reserves, 
taking up land suitable for agriculture, they are 
permitted to do so. In this way all the lands 
which can be used for farming will be put under 
cultivation. The right of grazing cattle over the 
forest areas will also be granted for a proper 
remuneration to persons who own herds which 
they desire to pasture in the forest regions. In 
this manner it is believed that the full value of 
our great forests will be realized. The lumber¬ 
man, the miner, the cattle owner, the farmer, 


FORESTS 


101 



will all be able, under reasonable restrictions and 
for proper compensation, to make use of these 
national reserves. None will be permitted to ex¬ 
haust them or to destroy their value. Moreover, 


An Irrigation Ditch, Washington 

the lower lands will be improved by having water 
in the rivers, which can be used for irrigation and 
for carrying lumber and other produce to the 
markets. 

Irrigation. — A large part of the land in our 
Western states is without rainfall, or receives so 




102 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


little rain that farming cannot be carried on 
successfully. The soil in much of this land is 
very fertile, so that if a water supply can be pro¬ 
vided, it will produce even finer crops than an 
ordinary farming country. Here, too, the gov¬ 
ernment is assisting the people to develop the 
natural wealth. It is constructing large reser¬ 
voirs in which during the rainy season the waters 
of the rivers are gathered. These waters are 
then distributed over the adjoining lands by 
means of irrigation canals. Where formerly there 
was a desert, barren and wild, growing nothing 
but rough bushes and rank weeds, there are now 
found beautiful fruit orchards and fields of wav¬ 
ing grain. 

State Reservations. — Many of the states have 
likewise created forest reserves upon land belong¬ 
ing to them, in order to preserve fine forest areas. 
They are managed in much the same way as the 
national reservations, although they are much 
smaller. The work of a forester or forest ranger 
is very healthful and interesting. He rides horse¬ 
back from sunrise to sunset through the most beau¬ 
tiful forest and mountain scenery, visiting agricul¬ 
tural settlements and passing through the wooded 
areas to see that no illegal act is committed. 


FORESTS 


103 


National Parks. — Some of the most attractive 
regions in our country have been reserved by the 
nation or by a state as public parks. In these 
no lands may be sold or leased, but they are kept 
entirely for the enjoyment of the public. They 



View in Yosemite Park 


are great national pleasure grounds where we 
may go to enjoy the marvelous beauty of nature. 
Such is the Yellowstone National Park, with its 
grand mountain scenery, its geysers, its water- 




104 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


falls, and the gorgeous coloring of its rocks. 
Such is the Yosemite Park in California, which is 
famous the world over for its scenery. Itasca 
Park, at the head waters of the Mississippi River 
in the state of Minnesota, Niagara Falls Park in 
New York, overlooking one of the wonders of 
nature, and the Adirondack Park in the same 
state, in the delightful mountain country ad¬ 
joining Lake Champlain, — these are some of 
the parks maintained by states. We should as 
a nation and as commonwealths preserve and 
protect for the delight of mankind these beau¬ 
tiful regions which nature has created. No 
money can restore their beauty when once it 
has been destroyed. If the Falls of Niagara 
should be dried up by having the waters of 
the lake drawn off to furnish an electric current 
for New York City, a few men would be en¬ 
riched, but the nation would be poorer by the 
loss of one of the marvels of nature that has 
made our country famous the world over. We 
should, therefore, strive to preserve as perma¬ 
nent wealth whatever is beautiful or useful in 
nature in our neighborhood and in the country 
at large. 


FORESTS 


105 


QUESTIONS 

1. What are forest reserves? Why are they neces¬ 
sary, and how used ? 

2. What is irrigation? Where used? Does irriga¬ 
tion pay? 

3. What are the duties of a forest ranger? 

4. Name four National Parks. 

5. Should these parks be maintained by the state 
or the federal government? 


CHAPTER XIV 

PUBLIC LANDS 

The Homestead Act. -— The lands of our coun¬ 
try originally belonged to the government, but 
the larger part of them has been sold to individ¬ 
uals or corporations. Much land has been dis¬ 
posed of under the homestead act. By this act 
any citizen is permitted to take up a claim of one 
hundred and sixty acres of agricultural land. If 
he resides thereon for five years, cultivating a 
part of it, it will become his own absolutely at 
the end of that period. Under our national laws, 
mining and timber claims can also be taken up 
by individuals in return for a certain payment 
to the government. These acts do not apply to 
the forest reserves which we have already de¬ 
scribed and where special regulations are enforced. 

Aids to Agriculture. — The nation and the 
states exert themselves to make farming more 
and more profitable and productive. In order 
106 


PUBLIC LANDS 


107 


to give farmers an opportunity to raise better 
crops, the government conducts investigations 
to find out the best methods of planting and is 
willing to give this information to any one who 
asks for it. Seeds are distributed by the federal 
government free of charge. These are not ordi¬ 
nary seeds which every one can readily obtain, 
but they produce better varieties of grains, vege¬ 
tables, or fruits, the introduction of which will 
really benefit a farming community. Experts em¬ 
ployed by the government are also studying the 
introduction of new plants which have not been 
cultivated in our country before, or of varieties of 
plants more productive than those now in use. 
Thus a new kind of wheat was recently brought 
from- Alaska. It is an especially fertile and hardy 
variety because under the cold and unfavorable 
conditions in the northern territory the wheat 
had to make special effort to become strong and 
healthy. Our countiy uses large quantities of 
coffee, tea, and rice, most of which are imported 
from foreign countries. Rice cultivation has, 
however, now been developed in the South. 
Government experts have also shown that tea 
of a superior quality can be grown on the hills 
and highlands of our Southern states. 


108 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


QUESTIONS 

1. Find out more fully what is necessary in order 
to obtain a homestead from the government. 

2 . Are there any forest reserves in your state? 

3. Is there still much public land in your state? 

4. How do forests affect the rainfall? 

5. Tell the meaning of primeval; homestead; 
ranger; agriculture; irrigation ; geyser. 

6. Give some reasons why forests should be pre¬ 
served. 

7. Give some facts about the Yellowstone or Yo- 
semite Park. 

8. Of what value is Niagara Falls? How might it 
be destroyed? 

9. Find out all you can about the growing of rice. 

10 . From what country do we import the most rice ? 
Why? 

11. Should the government furnish seeds without 
cost to farmers? 

12 . Why should the government or the state estab¬ 

lish agricultural schools ? Are there any in your state ? 
Where ? . 


CHAPTER XV 


MONEY 

The Medium of Exchange. — Money is one of 
the most necessary instruments of modern civiliza¬ 
tion. We all know how necessary it is to our own 
personal convenience. If there were no money, 
all exchanges would have to be made directly. If 
we had manufactured some chairs, but needed a 
horse, we should have to hunt about for a man 
who was in need of chairs and desired to dispose of 
a horse. Money enables us to save all this trouble. 
The man who wants our chairs comes to us and 
pays us in cash, which we can take and exchange 
for anything we desire. It is, however, very im¬ 
portant that this money should be the same the 
country over, and that it should be perfectly safe 
and stable in its value. If a dollar should be 
worth one hundred cents to-day and only seventy- 
five cents next month, great loss and uncertainty 
would result in business affairs. 

The National Mint. — The government under¬ 
takes to give us a stable national currency. The 
109 


110 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


national government has the sole right to coin 
money and to issue paper currency. Even if one 
took the pure silver and stamped upon it the same 



The United States Mint, Philadelphia 


devices that are seen on our dollar, his action would 
be against the law and would be punished. No 
one is permitted to issue money except the govern¬ 
ment of the nation. The money issued is either 
of metal or of paper. We have copper cents; 
five-cent pieces of nickel and copper; silver dimes, 
quarters, half dollars, and dollars'; gold dollars, 
and five-, ten-, and twenty-dollar gold coins. The 
ten-dollar coin is also called an eagle, but this 






MONEY 


111 


name is not frequently used. If we owe money 
to any one and offer him gold or silver dollars, 
he is obliged to accept this money in payment 
for the debt. We say that such money is legal 
tender , because, when we tender it, it must be 
accepted by the creditor. Not all coins are legal 
tender. Thus, copper coins are legal tender only 
up to the amount of twenty-five cents. If we 
should go with a wheelbarrow full of cents to 
pay a debt of $50, our creditor could refuse to 
take the coins and demand payment in silver or 
gold. 

A Substitute for Coin. — Paper money is also 
issued by the government, although some of it 
bears the imprint of the national banks. National 
bank-notes are secured by the government, and 
are, therefore, as good as other currency. The 
government does not issue paper money for greater 
amounts than it can return in gold and silver. We 
should be able to get gold or silver at any time for 
the paper issued by the government. If the gov¬ 
ernment should issue too much paper money, it 
would fall in value and cause great confusion and 
loss. No matter how rich a government is, its 
credit is limited, like that of an individual. In 
other words, there is a limit beyond which people 


112 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


will not lend it any money. By reason of the 
reserve kept by the government, any paper money 
in circulation may be redeemed, on demand, in 
gold. The total amount of money of all kinds, 
paper, silver, and gold, in circulation in 1917 was 
nearly five billion dollars. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What gives coin its value? 

2. What gives a ten-dollar bill its value? 

3. What substitutes for gold and silver money were 
used in early times? 

4. What is counterfeiting? Why ought it to be 
punished ? 

5. Why is gold better than silver for coins? 

6. For what amount is silver legal tender? 

7. Why cannot state governments coin money? 

8. Describe the designs on United States coins. 

9. What means are taken to prevent the counter¬ 
feiting of our currency? 

10. What is a mint? Where are the United States 
mints located ? 

11. Do all peoples’ use money as a medium of ex¬ 
change ? Why not ? 


CHAPTER XVI 

THE MAILS 

Transmission of Letters. — One of the most 
important branches of the federal government is 
the Postoffice Department. Long ago, if one 
desired to send a letter to a person at a distance, 
he would have to employ a special messenger for 
the purpose. Later, the service of carrying letters 
for the public was conducted by private enter¬ 
prise. By the time our government was founded, 
other governments had established a mail service, 
so that this became one of the lines of work under¬ 
taken by the United States from the beginning. 
It is a great convenience to be able to drop a letter 
into a near-by mail-box, and without further care, 
and at a trifling expense, to have it delivered safely 
and quickly in the most distant part of the coun¬ 
try, or even beyond the seas. Business could not 
be carried on properly without such rapid com¬ 
munication. 

Postmasters. — At the present time — 1920 — 
there are about fifty-four thousand postoffices in 
113 


114 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



the United States. They are divided into four 
classes ; according to the amount of business done. 
There are over 8000 postofhces of the first three 
classes. The postmasters in these are appointed 
by the President with the approval of the Senate. 


Separating Mail in a Large Postoffice 

The postmasters of the fourth class, of whom there 
are about 47,000, are appointed by the Postmaster 
General. He generally appoints in any locality 
a citizen whose friends and neighbors support 
him. Women also may fill positions as post¬ 
mistresses. 



THE MAILS 


115 


The subordinate officials in the larger post- 
offices are appointed after examination in the 
various common and high-school branches. Those 
who pass have their names enrolled on a list from 
which the appointments must be made. A mail- 
clerk must have a good knowledge of the geography 
of this and other countries. He must know by 
what route certain postoffices can be reached. If a 
letter is to be sent to China, he must know whether 
the next steamer leaves from San Francisco or 
Seattle or Vancouver. As he has thousands of 
letters and packages to distribute every day, this 
knowledge must always be instantly ready. 

Railway Mail Service. — The railway mail 
service also requires much intelligent and rapid 
work. We have all seen a mail-car and observed 
its internal arrangement. A large number of 
mail-bags are hung up along the inside of the car. 
There is a mail-bag for every town on the route of 
the train and for important cities farther along. 
As the mail is hastily dumped into the mail-car at 
the different stations, the mail-clerk sorts it and 
places every individual piece in the proper pouch. 

The railway companies are paid very liberally 
for carrying the mails. It is difficult to determine 
just how much they should receive for this service, 


116 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


because the amount of mail that is sent over any 
line varies greatly from time to time. The govern¬ 
ment pays for the use of the mail-cars, but per- 



Chicago and Northwestern Railway Depot 
This depot, with land and approaches, cost $25,000,000. 


haps it would be better if it owned all the cars 
used in the service. 

Classes of Mail Matter. — Mail matter is 
divided into four classes. In the first class are 
letters and sealed packages, or anything contain¬ 
ing writing. The rate on this class is two cents 
for each ounce on sealed matter and one cent 
on cards of the regulation postal card size. The 
second-class mail is composed of newspapers and 
magazines sent out directly by the publishers. 
They pay a postage graded from 1|- to 2 cents a 
pound. This rate is, of course, far too small to 
pay the actual expenses of the service of handling 









THE MAILS 


117 


this mail. It is, however, looked upon as educa¬ 
tional work to distribute cheaply among the 
people of the nation newspapers and magazine 
literature. When a newspaper is sent through 
the mails by a person other than the publisher, 
the postage is one cent for each four ounces. 
The third class comprises miscellaneous printed 
matter, photographs, and bdok proofs weighing 
four pounds or less, on which the rate is one cent 
for two ounces. The fourth class, or parcel post, 
comprises all matter not included in previous 
classes. Packages up to fifty pounds are now 
carried through the mails at rates that vary ac¬ 
cording to distance from mailing point. 

Money-orders. — Postoffices also issue money- 
orders, by means of which money is transmitted 
from one place to another, for a small fee depend¬ 
ent on the amount of money transmitted. Should 
a person desire an acknowledgment of the receipt 
of a letter or package sent, it is registered by the 
postoffice and placed in a special envelope to 
insure safe delivery. A fee of ten cents is charged 
for thus registering a letter or package. The in¬ 
come of'the government from all these sources is 
very large, and yet it is usually not sufficient to 
pay the expenses of the service. The salary of 


118 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


one hundred and fifty thousand postmasters and 
employees, the charges paid to the railways for 
carrying the mails, the cost of new buildings, and 
similar expenses often exceed the income of the 
service by many million dollars. The total cost 
of the service is over $300,000,000 a year. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Describe the work of a postmaster. 

2. Why should the government charge more for 
carrying a letter than a newspaper ? 

3. To send a letter from Boston to Chicago once 
cost twenty-five cents. Now it costs two cents. Ac¬ 
count for the difference in cost. 

4. What do the letters R.F.D. stand for? 

5. What is meant by “parcel post”? Postal 
savings banks? The International Postal Union? 
Money-orders ? 

6. What is a parcel post “zone”? Does the par¬ 
cel post help farmers? City people? Why? 

7. What does it cost to send a letter from San 
Francisco to London? To Paris? To Peking? 

8. In what countries have postal savings banks 
been established? 

9. What advantage are they to the people? 

10. In what class is your postoffice? Why? 

11. What is the salary of your postmaster? 

12. What are the proper ways to send money by 
mail ? Why ? 


CHAPTER XVII 


FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

Our Relations with Other Nations. — Our na¬ 
tion is so great, rich, and powerful that it might 
seem in no way dependent on any one else, that 
it could do what it pleased and get what it wished 
by its own strength. Yet this is not the case. 
Every nation, no matter how strong, is in some 
way dependent upon other countries and other 
parts of the world. It is a member of the family 
of nations, and it must exert itself to be in good 
relations with its neighbors. As we are polite 
and considerate to persons with whom we come 
in contact in our daily life, so nations should be 
considerate of one another. They should respect 
one another’s rights and not do anything from a 
feeling of hostility or malice. 

The Promotion of Commerce. — If we consider 
a little, we shall see how dependent we are upon 
other parts of the world in certain matters. In 
our daily life we need very many things which 
are not produced in our country. The products 
119 


120 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


of the tropics like quinine, rubber, precious woods 
such as mahogany and ebony, articles of food 
such as coffee and tea, are not produced in our 
country. Many other things which we need are 
not raised in sufficiently large quantities to satisfy 



A Shipping Scene in New York 


our needs. For all these'things we have to de¬ 
pend on the producers in other countries. There 
are also many manufactured articles which the 
people in foreign countries can make better or 
cheaper than they can be produced here, and 
these we buy from abroad. On the other hand, 
we desire to sell to the people of other countries 




FOREIGN AFFAIRS 


121 


the products of our factories and of our farms. 
In many lines we produce and manufacture more 
than we can use for ourselves. By selling to 
other nations the things we do not need, we 
secure money with which to buy foreign prod¬ 
ucts which are necessary for our convenience or 
'welfare. So we have many business relations 
with other countries. We also want some of our 
engineers to go to other parts of the world to 
build railways or bridges, or to set up great elec¬ 
trical plants for providing cities with light and 
power. If we all had to stay at home and con¬ 
fine our work and trade to our own country, we 
should lose many of these advantages. 

In order that all these activities may go on, 
our government makes agreements or treaties 
with other countries by which our commerce is 
protected and by which our citizens are permitted 
to travel freely and safely in foreign lands. 

Passports. — Before leaving this country for 
foreign parts, an American citizen must obtain 
from the government a passport. This is a docu¬ 
ment signed by the Secretary of State, in which 
the name and a description of the bearer are 
given, and which calls upon a foreign government 
to afford him protection and other privileges. In 


122 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


other countries; should one desire the government 
to interfere in his behalf; he can show his pass¬ 
port and thus prove his right to protection. 
Since we expect these favors from foreign govern¬ 
ments; we in turn are hospitable to their citizens 
who come to our shores. 

Diplomats. — In order that our interests and 
our citizens may be protected in foreign countries; 
our government has representatives stationed in 
all parts of the world. These are either diplomats 
or consuls. The diplomats — ambassadors, en¬ 
voys, and ministers — represent the political in¬ 
terests of the whole nation. They report to our 
State Department about conditions in foreign 
countries, and when treaties are to be made 
they represent our government. Great honor is 
accorded to diplomats because they are held to 
represent the majesty of their country. Their 
persons are sacred, and they cannot be arrested 
or interfered with in any manner by any foreign 
government. It was, therefore, a serious breach 
of law when the Chinese populace in Peking 
attacked the legations and threatened to kill 
the representatives of other .nations and their 
families. A nation permitting such a crime is 
severely dealt with by the other countries. 


FOREIGN AFFAIRS 


123 


Consuls. — The consuls are officials who look 
after the commercial interests of our country. 
They make reports upon opportunities for intro¬ 
ducing American materials and manufactures in 
foreign lands. When merchandise is imported, 
they issue a certificate of its value, called an in¬ 
voice. The consuls are intrusted with the special 
care of American sailors who may find themselves 
in foreign ports. They must see that the contracts 
made with these sailors are duly fulfilled, and 
that they are not dismissed from a ship without 
proper payment. In every way the consuls will 
also protect and care for the interests of citizens 
traveling abroad. When one finds himself in a 
foreign city, it is very pleasant to see the United 
States coat of arms above a doorway or to see 
the United States flag floating there. This in¬ 
dicates the home or office of a consul or diplomat. 
Americans are always welcome in such places, 
but they should be careful not to trouble the 
consuls, who are very busy men, with private 
affairs, unless a real need exists. 

The State Department. — All these officials are 
under the control of the Department of State, 
at the head of which is the highest official in the 
cabinet, the Secretary of State. This department 


124 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


watches over our interests in foreign countries. 
If the goods of American merchants are boycotted 
in China, the State Department will try to induce 
the Chinese government to protect our commerce. 



Pan-American Union, Washington, D.C. 

Building of the International Union of the (Twenty-one) American 
Republics 

When a European country threatens to exclude our 
goods, the State Department will attempt to make 
a treaty by which their continued admission will 
be secured. These are examples of the many ways 
in which the State Department protects the in- 











FOREIGN AFFAIRS 


125 


terests of our commerce. But it is not only 
commerce, but every interest and pursuit of the 
American people, that the State Department 
makes its own and looks after in foreign lands. 

Treaties. — When a treaty has been worked out 
by the Department of State and agreed to by the 
foreign government with which it is made, the 
President submits it to the Senate. Under the 
Constitution, the Senate must be consulted con¬ 
cerning every treaty, and no treaty can go into 
force without the approval of two thirds of the 
senators who vote upon it. This gives the Senate 
great power over our foreign affairs. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Find out what you can concerning the Hague 
Conference. 

2. Find out all you can about the Pan-American 
Union at Washington. 

3. What is the advantage of having a photograph 
attached to a passport? 

4. Try to tell the difference between an amba'ssador 
and a foreign minister. 

5. What is a “boycott”? Is it just? 

6. How are treaties arranged? How ratified? 

7. Define commerce; imports; exports; passport ; 
diplomat; consul. 


CHAPTER XVIII 

THE ARMY AND NAVY 

In Times of Peace. — During its existence as a 
republic^ the United States has in times of peace 
maintained a small army and navy, for even in 
times of peace it is necessary that we have a 
means of defense. We are a nation that has pros¬ 
pered, but not at the expense of the prosperity 
or the possessions of any other nation. On the 
other hand, our isolated position, with the Atlantic 
on one side and the Pacific on the other, has given 
us a feeling of protection from invasion by any 
nation not American. The principle of the 
Monroe Doctrine, that the countries of the two 
American continents should be free from foreign 
aggression, has helped to maintain friendly rela¬ 
tions between the United States and the rest of the 
Western Hemisphere. 

Strength a Defense. — Yet it has been necessary 
that we should have an army and a navy. In the 
126 



THE ARMY AND NAVY 127 

early j^ears, the army was used for protection 
against the Indians, but that long ago became un¬ 
necessary. Any great nation in the world, how¬ 
ever, must maintain its power, just as a man who 


State, Army, and Navy Building, Washington, D.C. 

may be perfectly peaceful and without desire to 
injure his neighbors in any way will still keep his 
body in good condition and wall protect his house¬ 
hold possessions by lock and key at night or when 
he is not near to watch over them. A nation 
to be safe must be strong and must be prepared for 
defense, or others will take advantage of it. 




128 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


The Army. — The power to raise and support 
an army and a navy is provided by the Constitu¬ 
tion. The President is the commander-in-chief of 
the army of the United States, but he does not 
lead the army in the field; he has general direc¬ 
tion of its movements. The officers who direct 
the field service of the army are generals, major- 
generals, brigadier-generals, colonels, captains, 
lieutenants, etc. 

West Point. — In order that an army may be 
efficient, its officers must receive complete and 
thorough military education and training. For 
this purpose the government maintains a military 
academy at West Point on the Hudson River. 
The ground is historic, the location is delightful, 
and the buildings and equipment provide for 
every need. Here young men selected for especial 
fitness, from all parts of the nation, are trained for 
four years in the art of war. 

The cadets are selected as follows: two for 
each Congressional District; two for each Terri¬ 
tory; four from the District of Columbia; two 
from natives of Porto Rico; four from each state 
at large; eighty from the United States at large; 
and twenty from honor graduates of certain educa¬ 
tional institutions. In addition, the President is 


THE ARMY AND NAVY 


129 



authorized to appoint not over 180 cadets from 
among enlisted men, in number as nearly equal 
as practicable from the Regular Army and the 


Battle Monument, West Point 

National Guard, between the ages of nineteen and 
twenty-two who have served as enlisted men not 
less than one year, to be selected as the President 
may prescribe. 





130 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


After a course of training extending over four 
years, the graduates of West Point are given 
commissions in the army as lieutenants. 

Militia, or National Guard. — In addition to 
the regular army of the United States there exists 
in each state a body of troops called the militia. 
These are citizen soldiers that do not make a 
business of army service. In times of peace, 
they are given an annual period of military train¬ 
ing. They are really state troops, but they may 
be called into the service of the United States 
when they are needed by the federal government. 
In the year 1916, when the expedition under 
General Pershing was sent into Mexico, the militia, 
or National Guard as these soldiers are also called, 
made up no small part of the expeditionary forces. 
By the end of 1917, all the National Guard had 
been called into the federal army for the World 
War, and their places at home were taken by the 
National Reserves. 

The Navy. — The other important branch 
of national defense is the navy. The duty of 
the navy is to maintain the dignity of the 
United States upon the high seas, which are the 
waterways of the commerce of the world, and 
to defend our country in case of attack by sea 



THE ARMY AND NAVY 131 

by any foreign power or of assault upon our 
dignity. 

Our huge battleships carry large guns which fire 
missiles from twelve to sixteen inches in diam¬ 
eter, which can penetrate the heaviest armbr 
of battleships at the proper battle range. The 


United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland 

larger of our battleships cost about $10,000,000, 
an amount that would provide a state with a 
system of fine roads, yet these magnificent 
machines may be crushed into a heap of scrap- 
iron in a minute by the action of torpedoes. For 




132 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



use in the Great War we have a great many and 
are rapidly building more torpedo boat destroyers, 
to protect our battleships and boats of commerce 
from torpedoes fired by enemy submarines. 


“Inspection” of Cadets, United States Naval Academy 

The Naval Academy. — It requires great skill 
and experience to command and control a modern 
battleship. Those who manage its intricate 
machinery must be carefully trained. For this 
purpose the government has a naval school, at 
Annapolis, Maryland, where officers and midship- 



THE ARMY AND NAVY 


133 


men are thoroughly educated and trained in 
everything pertaining to naval warfare. Three 
midshipmen are appointed to the Naval Academy 
for each senator, representative, and delegate in 
Congress. The President appoints two from the 
District of Columbia and ten from the United 
States at large. 

The United States in the World War. — Up to 

the time of the passage of the National Defense 
Act, in June, 1916, our regular army included less 
than 100,000 officers and men. It was then a 
“ volunteer ” service, that is, no one was forced to 
join against his will. When it became clear that 
we would be drawn into that awful conflict, a great 
movement for “ preparedness ” swept the country. 
Immediately after the formal declaration by 
Congress, in April, 1917, that a state of war existed 
between Germany and the United States, direc¬ 
tions were given, by Congress, for the raising of 
a large army by selective draft, in order that the 
burden of service might fall evenly on all classes. 
Under this and subsequent acts all men between 
the ages of eighteen and forty-six years were regis¬ 
tered, nearly twenty-four millions in all; those 
who met the physical requirements were drafted 
for service, and of these over three million six 


134 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


hundred thousand were in training or in active 
service by the end of the war. 

The National Guard was mobilized in nineteen 
training camps, the National Army in sixteen 
cantonment camps. Our nine army stations, 



The Pennsylvania, Battleship of the United States Navy 


previously existing, were changed into officers 7 
training camps. Twenty aviation sites were 
provided for training in the use of aeroplanes. 

The use of aeroplanes has become of great 
importance in modern warfare, in directing the 
movements of the army, in scout work, in defense 




THE ARMY AND NAVY 


135 


against enemy aeroplanes, and in attack, when 
necessary, of enemy positions. 

The proper officials placed orders for great 
quantities of munition materials, for the building 
of war vessels of the several types, and army and 
navy equipment of all kinds was rushed through 
the factories. 

The men needed for the increased navy were 
secured through voluntary enlistment. Thirteen 
Naval Training Stations, including the United 
States Naval Academy at Annapolis and the 
Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island, 
were busy training centers for the new men. 

Thus the United States, with the best resources 
at its command, took its place beside its allies 
in the World War, the purpose of which, to use 
the words of President Wilson, was to “ make the 
world safe for democracy.” 

QUESTIONS 

1. Why is a large United States navy important? 

2. What qualifications for admission are demanded 
of West Point cadets? 

3. When is war justifiable? 

4. Is military drill in schools advisable? 

5. Tell something of your state militia. 

6. What is the cost of a first-class battleship ? 


136 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


7. How long would this money support the schools 
of your city or town ? 

8. Write a composition on the Naval Academy at 
Annapolis, telling how cadets are appointed, how many 
there are, what they must know to be admitted, what 
the course of study is, etc. 

9. Who is the cadet now at West Point from your 
district ? How, when, and by whom was he appointed ? 

10. Give the location of the National Guard Train¬ 
ing Camp for soldiers from your state. The location 
of the National Army Cantonment Camp for your 
state. 

11. Why should officers be trained in a separate 
camp from other soldiers? 

12. Name as many as you can of the different kinds 
of service an aeroplane squadron renders an army. 

13. What officials give orders for army supplies such 
as uniforms, rifles, food supplies, etc. ? 

14. Find the names of as many different types of war 
vessels as you can. 

15. When war is declared between two' countries, 
what does each do with the ships of the other country 
lying in its harbors? By what right is this done? 


CHAPTER XIX 


TAXATION 

The Expenses of Government. — In the preced¬ 
ing chapters we have seen the various ways in 
which the government acts in behalf of the people. 
We have seen how it defends and protects them 
against foreign attack and internal disorder. We 
have seen how it carries and distributes the mails, 
how it provides for education, how it develops the 
natural wealth of the country in forests and agri¬ 
cultural lands. For most of these advantages 
the people benefited do not pay directly. The 
government practically provides them freely in 
order to advance the general interest. All these 
things, however, cost a great deal of money, and 
hence the expenses of government are very great. 
This money is raised by taxation of one kind or 
another, and comes indirectly from all the people. 

Oppressive Taxation. — In early times taxation 
could hardly be distinguished from robbery. We 
have already seen how dependent the peasant of 
the valley was upon the lord of the castle. This 
137 


138 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


lord took not only what the peasants could pro¬ 
duce, but he also preyed upon the merchants 
who traveled through his territory. On the 
river Rhine, for instance, the lords of the castles 
often stretched chains across the river and de¬ 
tained merchant vessels until they had paid an 
exaction or tax to the lord, who had really done 
nothing whatever for them. It is different in a 
modern civilized community. There the tax is a 
payment for service rendered by the government 
in protection, education, the development of 
resources, and the administration of law. 

Fees. — We must distinguish between a fee 
and a tax. When a specific payment is made for 
a service by the government, it is called a fee. 
For a passport one pays a fee of SI. For 
having a letter registered, the sender pays a fee 
of ten cents. For having a warrant of arrest 
issued or a summons in a civil action, one also pays 
a definite fee, fixed by the laws of the state. But 
most of the services performed by the state are 
not paid for directly in this manner but by gen¬ 
eral taxation. 

Indirect Taxation. — The federal government 
gets most of its revenue from indirect taxation and 
from a direct tax on incomes. Indirect taxes 


TAXATION 


139 


are not originally paid by the person upon whom 
they finally fall. The greatest source of revenue 
is the import duties levied upon goods brought 
into our country from abroad. Suppose a mer¬ 
chant imports from Bohemia certain manufactures 
of glass. When these goods are brought into an 
American port, the government collects a certain 
duty upon them. This payment may be added 
to the selling price, and will thus ultimately be 
paid by the person who purchases the goods. 

Another source of federal revenue is found in 
the excise duties on luxuries like tobacco, liquor, 
and beer. This tax is originally paid by the man¬ 
ufacturer of the article, but he adds it to the price, 
so that ultimately the consumer has to pay it. 

Smuggling. — The government not only has to 
provide for the collection of these taxes, but it 
must protect itself against fraud. Some persons 
would like to import merchandise without pay¬ 
ing the lawful import tax. The government must 
therefore patrol the coasts of our country with 
revenue cutters to prevent smuggling. When 
people coming from abroad enter a port like 
New York, their baggage is examined by custom 
officers to ascertain whether it contains any goods 
upon which a tax should be paid. It is not 


140 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


pleasant to have one’s baggage turned upside down 
and inside out by a stranger. Yet in some way 
the government must collect its duties and protect 



United States Custom House, Seattle 
The Federal Court and the Postoffice are also located in this 
building 

itself against imposition, therefore the custom offi¬ 
cers must examine all in-coming baggage carefully. 

Forms of Taxation. — The money needed by 
state and local governments for rendering service 
to the public is collected through various forms of 









TAXATION 


141 


taxation. There is a tax on land and buildings 
from which the largest amount of revenue is ob¬ 
tained. There is a general property tax paid upon 
all property not of the nature of real estate. 
This tax sometimes does not bring in as large an 
amount as it should, because some people de¬ 
liberately conceal from the state what property 
they have. This is dishonest, and in no way 
better than cheating a private person. 

In some states there are taxes on property which 
one gives away by will. When a person dies, 
leaving property, the state collects a certain per¬ 
centage of it for its own use. If the property goes 
to the widow or the children of the deceased person, 
the percentage collected is usually smaller than 
when it goes to distant relatives. Of course, when 
there are no relatives at all to take the property, 
it will fall to the state, but very little property 
is left in this way. 

States and cities also derive revenue from license 
fees collected from automobile owners, theaters, 
hotels, restaurants, peddlers, and others. In 
some districts a poll tax or head tax is levied. 
This is quite usual in country districts, where such 
a tax may be worked off in road building or other 
public work. 


142 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


Direct Taxes. — You will see that most of the 
taxes collected by the states and local units are 
direct, that is, they are paid directly by the person 
taxed. In direct taxes one is always sure of the 
amount he is paying, while he can never have this 
certainty in the matter of indirect taxes. When¬ 
ever one buys cloth, or chinaware, or jewelry, 
the price may include a larger or smaller import 
duty paid to the federal government. It would be 
difficult or impossible to determine the amount. 
But there can be no doubt about the amount of 
money paid in taxes for a house and lot which 
one owns. That amount is definite. For this 
reason it has often been said that it is better for 
a free nation to have as much as possible of its 
taxation direct. In that case the citizens know 
exactly what the government costs them, and they 
will attend more carefully to the expenditures. 
They will see to it that useless outlays are avoided. 
We see this result to-day in our own country. 
Everybody is willing to have the federal govern¬ 
ment spend money in large amounts, because no 
one knows how much he contributes toward this 
expense. We are far more saving in our city 
and state governments, because in these cases 
the amount of our tax is definitely known, and 


TAXATION 


143 



each citizen is aware of what the government 
costs him. 

Cost of Government. — The expenses of the 
government, aside from the expenses of the Great 
War, have increased very much in recent years. 


r United States Treasury Building, Washington, D.C. 

Many of the activities of government which we 
have described are new. The development of 
forests, of agriculture, and of other improvements 
incident to our growth all cost a great deal of 
money. These expenditures, of course, will bring 
to the nation an abundant return, but this re¬ 
turn will not go to the government itself. It 
will go to individual citizens. The expenses of 














144 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


the national government before the Great War 
reached the enormous figure of $1,000,000,000 per 
year. It is almost impossible to imagine such a 
sum of money. The amount which the federal 
government spends every day in times of peace, 
in silver dollars, would fill eight freight cars, while 
the annual expenditure would be carried in one 
hundred and eighty trains of sixteen cars each. 

The expenses of the state governments are, of 
course, much smaller. At the present time they 
amount to about $400,000,000 per year, while 
our larger cities all together spend around $1,000,- 
000,000. 

Cost of the Great War. — Before the United 

States entered the World War, military expenses 
of our nation were about $173,000,000 for the 
army, $139,000,000 for the navy, and $173,000,000 
for pensions. The war, of course, necessitated 
vast increases in expenditures for the army and 
navy. Part of the expenses of the United States 
in the war have been met by the sale of bonds. 
These were purchased by people of all classes and 
by banks and other institutions. The bonds bear 
interest and are due after a certain period of 
years. The two issues of bonds in 1917 totaled 
$7,000,000,000. 


TAXATION 


145 


In character similar to bonds are $5 War Savings 
Stamps and 25-cent Thrift Stamps which the 
government sells to those who cannot help their 
government by loaning it larger amounts. 

Another source of revenue for defraying war 
expenses has been the increase in some of the gen¬ 
eral taxes, postage, etc. By the War Revenue 
Bill of 1917, a tax was laid on theater and other 
amusement tickets, on railway tickets, and on legal 
and commercial papers, such as deeds, bills of lad¬ 
ing, etc. The income tax was greatly increased. 
Certain postal rates were also increased ; thus, letter 
postage was increased from two to three cents 
an ounce, but the old rate was restored in 1919. 

City Taxes. — Naturally the taxes in a city 
are much higher than those in the country. 
People living in cities must pay for the paving of 
streets in order that they may ride or drive in 
comfort. They pay for the service of policemen 
to watch over their safety day and night. They 
pay for the care of the parks where the children 
may play in summer and skate in winter. They 
pay for the district and high schools where the 
children get their education. They pay for the 
service of firemen to protect property. All these 
services add to the expenses of city government.' 


146 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


If we live in the country, our taxes will be much 
less, because people in the countiy incur no 
expenses for police service, fire departments, or 
paved streets. Their roads they usually build and 
repair themselves. They are not afraid of crimi¬ 
nals, who chiefly gather in the cities, where there 
are more people to plunder. 

Assessment of Taxes. — The local expenditure 
of public money is regulated by the town-meeting 
in states where the people can get together for their 
own government. In other states, the revenue is 
expended by town officers, in villages by the vil¬ 
lage board, in cities by the city council. Eveiy 
year certain sums of money are voted or appro¬ 
priated by these various bodies, which must be 
paid by us in the form of taxes. In the spring 
of every year an officer known as the assessor looks 
over all the property in the town or city. He de¬ 
termines the value of all real estate. He also puts 
a valuation on other property that we may have, 
called personal property. When he has made up 
his assessment roll, the taxes which the locality 
has to pay are apportioned among the citizens 
according to their property. The tax may amount 
to one per cent. In that case a house and lot as¬ 
sessed at $3000 will pay a tax of $30. If we are 


TAXATION 


147 


not satisfied, and think the assessor has put too 
high a valuation on our property, we can go before 
certain public officials and make complaint. If 
the assessment proves to be too large, the board 
will reduce it. When the day of payment comes, 
the assessed tax must be paid. The state is not 
a creditor that can be put off. If one should 
fail to pay the tax assessed upon his property, 
it would be sold at public auction by the sheriff, 
in order that the state might receive its tax. For 
this reason, people are more anxious to pay 
their taxes promptly than to meet any other 
obligation. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What is the rate of taxation in your town? 

2. What are the largest items of expenditure in 
your town? 

3. Is there an inheritance tax in your state? 

4. How is the tax on tobacco and cigars paid ? 

5. What is smuggling? What is its penalty? 

6. What articles should pay a heavy import 
duty? 

7. What is a protective tariff? Free trade? 

8. What does your schooling cost the city or town 
every day? 

9. Is church and college property taxed in your 
state? Is this just? 


148 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


10. Should a wealthy man who has no children be 
obliged to pay toward the support of schools? Why? 

11. On what have you paid a direct war tax? 

12. Name some things on which you have paid an 
indirect war tax. 


CHAPTER XX 


LEGISLATION 

The Making of Laws. — We have considered the 
many activities of the state, the manner in which 
it acts in behalf of the people, and in which it 
provides itself with funds for its expenses. We 
have seen hundreds of thousands of officials at 
work in their various departments looking after 
the interests of the people and advancing the wel¬ 
fare of the country. There must be somewhere 
a body of men who make rules according to 
which all these officials act and according to which 
the citizens are protected and have their interests 
guarded by the government. In the state the body 
which makes these rules is the legislature, and 
in the nation it is Congress. In smaller divisions 
rules are made by the county boards, city councils, 
village boards, and town-meetings. But in the 
state all such councils and boards are subordinate 
to the state legislature, which can prescribe rules 
of action even to these bodies. 

149 


150 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


Civil and Criminal Laws. — The legislature of 
the state frames the general rules by which the 
citizens must regulate their personal conduct. This 
is called the civil and criminal law of the state. 
Our moral sense tells us that we must not do 
bodily injury to another person nor take from him 
what rightfully is his own. Upon this moral sense 
the legislature bases the law which protects life 
and property and punishes crimes committed 
against citizens. These laws also lay down gen¬ 
eral rules for business transactions and the holding 
and transfer of property. Thus, it is law that if 
one write his name on the back of a note or check 
issued by another person, he may have to pay 
that note or check if the original maker proves 
unable to meet it. It is a law that when I agree 
in writing to purchase $10,000 worth of lumber, 
I must carry out my promise. All these and many 
other similar rules deal with the conduct of pri¬ 
vate citizens in respect to their general affairs. 

Rules for Officials. — The second kind of rules 
made by the legislature deals with the action of 
government officials, prescribing regulations ac¬ 
cording to which they must do their work. Thus, 
the laws will instruct the Secretary of State how 
he is to issue certificates of incorporation. They 


LEGISLATION 


151 


provide on what conditions insurance companies 
will be permitted to do business in a state. They 
instruct the game wardens and the foresters as 
to their duties. The legislature also has control 
over all the expenditures of the state. No official is 
permitted to pay out any state money if the legis¬ 
lature has not previously given its consent to such 
expenditure. As the legislature is elected directly 
by the people we see how all officials are under 
the control of the electors. If the citizens will 
only interest themselves in political matters and 
have a definite purpose, they will be able to im¬ 
press their desires upon the government of the 
country. 

Power of Congress. — The Congress of the 
United States has no control over the ordinary 
rules determining the conduct of citizens. The 
laws of contract, of property, of crime, are made 
by the state legislatures and not by Congress. The 
national body deals with the work of federal gov¬ 
ernment and with such matters as are provided 
for in the Constitution of the United States. As 
the constitution has given Congress the right to 
control commerce between the states, the com¬ 
mercial operations of the country have, as a matter 
of fact, to a large extent come under the super- 


152 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


vision of Congress. Thus Congress passed the rail¬ 
way rate act, under which the Interstate Commerce 
Commission is empowered to determine whether 
any given rate charged by a railway company is 
excessive or not. The commission is also given 
other powers designed to protect the public against 
injurious action by railway companies. 

Pure Food Laws. — Another law of great 
importance secures the purity of foods. The 
health of the people is of great importance to the 
welfare of the nation. If what is sold for food or 
drink is of an injurious character, and not what 
it is claimed to be, the health of the people is 
endangered. Every one who sells food ought to be 
responsible for its purity. Under this law manu¬ 
facturers who use harmful substances in foods 
which they produce are punished. 

The foregoing are a few examples of laws made 
by Congress. Most of the acts of Congress deal 
with the established services of the departments 
of the government, with the land system of the 
United States, forests, irrigation, and public 
buildings. Congress appropriates all the money 
expended by the federal government. 

Federal Controls Necessitated by the Great War. 
— In order that the resources of the country might 


LEGISLATI6N 


153 


be conserved and used as economically as possible 
and that private “ profiteering ” might be pre¬ 
vented, Congress granted the President the right, 
for the period in which the United States might 
be at war, to appoint officials and commissions to 
regulate the prices of certain staple commodities 
such as coal, wheat, corn, sugar, etc. In August, 
1916, when a general railroad strike threatened, 
Congress granted the President the right to take 
the railroads under federal control. This right 
was exercised by the President in December, 1917, 
and the Secretary of the Treasury was appointed 
to control all the railroads of the country, during 
the period of the war, in order that the railroads 
and the government might cooperate in mobiliz¬ 
ing our resources rapidly and we might do our 
part in the Great War efficiently. This move¬ 
ment, which ten years earlier would have been 
regarded as revolutionary, was accepted with 
almost no unfavorable comment. 

How a Law is Made. — It is very interesting 
to observe the work of a legislative body. The 
legislature represents the different parties exist¬ 
ing among the people of the state or nation. 
These parties discuss questions of public interest, 
and their members struggle to secure influence 


154 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


and power. When a member of the legislature 
desires to have a new law passed, he frames a 
bill; that is, he writes out what he proposes in 
the form of a law. This bill he introduces on 
the floor of the House. The speaker of the 
House then sends it to a committee. It is im¬ 
possible for the House itself to go over all the 
bills which are proposed by members. They 
must first be examined and sifted by one of the 
many committees into which the House is divided. 
Thus, if the bill calls for an appropriation of 
money, it will be referred to the committee on 
finance. If it provides for the establishment of a 
normal school, it will go to the committee on 
education. If it calls for a new form of ballot, 
it will be sent to the committee on elections. 
These are a few examples. There are usually 
more than twenty-five committees in each house 
of a state legislature. 

Any citizen who has an interest in any matter 
of legislation may appear before the proper com¬ 
mittee to urge his opinions. The proposed bill 
may affect his business, or it may provide for 
some improvement he desires, or it may be a 
reform in political methods in which he believes. 
Whether he favors or opposes the measure, he 


LEGISLATION 


155 


has a right to express his opinions before the 
committee. The hearings of the committee are 
public, and they are definitely announced before¬ 
hand, so that citizens who are interested can be 
present. Persons who make it a business to 
secure legislation for others, who pay them for 
their efforts, are called lobbyists. If they simply 
argue openly before committees, there is nothing 
wrong about their work, but if they try secretly 
to influence legislators, their action is illegal. In 
many states lobbyists are obliged by law to regis¬ 
ter their names and those of their employers. 

If the committee finds that it would be desir¬ 
able to pass a certain bill, it reports this bill 
to the House with its recommendation. The 
representatives in the House may discuss the 
bill freely. The bill is then put to a vote; those 
favoring it will say “ Aye ”, those against it, 
“ No ”. If a majority of the members vote for 
the bill, it is passed. In some states a majority 
of all the members belonging in each house must 
vote favorably in order to pass a measure. 
When the bill is thus passed in one branch, it 
is then sent to the other — each legislature hav¬ 
ing two branches. There it goes through the 
same process. If it is passed by the second 


156 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


branch, it is sent to the governor for his approval, 
and thus becomes a law. 

Veto Power. — The governor has the right to 
veto a bill if he considers it undesirable. Veto 
is a Latin word meaning “ I forbid”. Sometimes 
the legislature may have overlooked some defect 
in the law, or the members may have become 
excited and passed a measure that in the light 
of reason seems dangerous to the state, or the 
legislature may have gone beyond the powers 
given to it by the constitution. In these cases 
the governor will usually exercise his power of 
veto. This veto does not necessarily defeat the 
bill. It goes back to the legislature. If this 
body passes it again, with an enlarged majority — 
two thirds in most states—the bill becomes a 
law notwithstanding the governor’s veto. The 
legislature need not accept the opinion of the 
governor on the character of the law. In such a 
case the people will judge between the legisla¬ 
ture and the governor, and uphold whichever in 
their opinion takes the right view of the case. 

Power to Declare Laws Unconstitutional. — 
Even if the legislature and governor approve the 
measure and it is printed among the statutes, it 
may still be contrary to the principles laid down in 


LEGISLATION 


157 


the constitution. Whether it is so is determined 
by the courts in cases brought before them in 
which it is alleged that the constitution forbids 
the law-making power to enact such a law. If 
the courts declare the law unconstitutional; it 
has no force and is as if it had never been passed. 
This very important power the courts in many 
countries do not possess. It is often said that 
the courts should not be given this power — that 
they should be confined to interpreting the law and 
applying it to the cases brought before them. On 
the other hand, it is urged that this is a final 
review which is of great advantage in assuring 
that the law-making power shall not disregard 
the fundamental rights which the constitution is 
to guarantee. 

The Initiative and the Referendum. — The con¬ 
stitutions of many states at the present time pro¬ 
vide that, when a large number of voters desire to 
have a certain law enacted, they may bring it be¬ 
fore the people of the state by an initiative petition. 
When this has been done, a v6te must by law be 
taken on the proposed law at the next regular 
election. Should a law passed by the legislature 
appear to a large number of voters unwise and 
undesirable, they may petition for its reference 


158 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


to the electorate. This is what is known as ask¬ 
ing for a referendum. When such a petition has 
been signed by the required number of voters, 
the law to which it refers cannot go into operation 
before it has been voted on by the general electo¬ 
rate. This method makes it possible for the 
people of a state to keep a very direct control over 
legislation, and themselves to make the laws which 
they desire to have enacted, when the legislature 
does not readily respond to the determined will 
of the people. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Describe a legislative body in session. 

2. What is a game warden ? A veto ? A civil law ? 
Interstate commerce? A lobby? A lobbyist? 

3. Show the value of the pure; food law; of a law 
to enforce contracts; of the veto power. 

4. What part of our government has the final word 
as to whether a law is constitutional or not? 

5. To whom must appeal be made to secure the re¬ 
peal of an unwise law? 

6. Does your state have an initiative law ? A ref¬ 
erendum law? 


GREAT SEALS OF THE UNITED STATES AND TERRITORIES 




/ *** Clt* Sob of Ceorgin reonrylvemv Virginia no) W« Virgini. bore • forme, u rrell u the obverse rfiowrr in then pUto. 


Copyright 1914 by G. & C. Merriam Co. 

From Webster’s New International Dictionary, by permission of the 
Publishers, G. & C. Merriam Co., Springfield, Mass. 











































































































. 

I 
















* 




























•-W 






































* . 




■ 













.. 
















- * 


- 

• “* 










































* 




- 


























. 




















- - 








































PART III 

THE ORGANIZATION OF THE 
GOVERNMENT 


i 


GREAT SEALS OF THE UNITED STATES AND TERRITORIES 









PENNSYLVANIA* 


RHODe ISLAND 


CREAT SEAL 
OF THE 

UNITED STATES 


Qftpo sg 




The original design included 
both obverse and reverse. 

The reverse has never been cut 


The design for the Great 
Seal ol the United State* 
was adopted June aoth. i; 


•^OKJVgSS^ 




PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 


MAW All 


POKTO * ICO 



SOI TM DAKOTA 



TENNESSEE 




Ct Alt VERMONT 



•The Great Scab of Georgia. Pennsylvania. Virginia and West Virginia have a re»d*e, aa wfcD aa the obverse shown in these piste* 

Copyright 1914 by G. & C. Merriam Co. 

From Webster’s New International Dictionary, by permission of the 
Publishers, G. & C. Merriam Co., Springfield, Mass. 












CHAPTER XXI 


THE TOWN AND VILLAGE 

Local Government. — As we know most about 
the needs of our own neighborhood, it is natural 
that we should pay most attention to these and 
manage them ourselves as much as possible. We 
should know about the affairs of the state and 
nation, but management of them we must in¬ 
trust to representatives and officials. The affairs 
of our town, village, or city, however, are so close 
to us, and we are so directly responsible for them, 
that it is our special duty and privilege to see 
that they are well administered. 

The Town-meeting. — In some of our states — 
New England, New York, Michigan, and Wiscon¬ 
sin — the people living in country districts are 
governed by the town-meeting. In New England 
the town is a small settlement, often dating back 
to the very beginning of our history. To the 
town belong the adjoining lands, and its bound¬ 
aries are the irregular lines inclosing them, the 
163 


164 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


whole territory forming a township. In other 
states the .townships are more artificial. They are 



Independence Hall, Philadelphia 
The Declaration of Independence was signed here 


often square areas determined by the calculations 
of surveyors, who went through our newer states 
and laid them out into counties and towns. In 
some of these newer states also the towns have 
their town-meetings. At least one town-meeting 
is held each year, in addition to which extra 









THE TOWN AND VILLAGE 


165 


meetings may be held. At these meetings each 
citizen of the town has a right to be present, 
speak, and vote. If he has a proper sense of his 
own interests and duties, he wall not fail to be 
present on these occasions. The town-meeting 
elects the town officers, and passes regulations 
called by-laws . 1 

Township Government. — In the townships of 
the states in which no town-meetings are held, 
the work of. the town is done entirely by elected 
officers. The general business of the town is 
managed by the selectmen, trustees, or super¬ 
visors. Of the latter there is usually only one to 
each town, but in New England towns there 
are from three to nine selectmen. These officers 
control and carry out the general administration 
of public affairs in the town, though where a town¬ 
meeting exists they are subject to its orders. 
They fix the rate of taxation, vote money for 
expenses, and control the other officials, such as 
the clerk, the treasurer, the assessor, the col¬ 
lector of taxes, the constable, the justice of the 

1 “ Town ” comes from the Anglo-Saxon “ tun”, referring to 
the fence or palisade built about towns in ancient times for 
protection. By is the old Norse word for town. A by-law, 
therefore, means a town law. England, as you remember, was 
settled by both Anglo-Saxons and Norsemen. 


166 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


peace, the overseers of the poor, and the sur¬ 
veyors of highways. The duties of these various 
officials are indicated by their title. The clerk 
keeps the books of the town, the records of the 
town-meeting; he issues notices and frames the 
various written instruments necessary in town 
government. The treasurer has charge of the 
town funds. The assessor determines the value 
of property in the town for the purposes of 
taxation. The constable is the peace officer who 
has the power of making arrests and serving 
warrants. By holding offices of this kind, the 
citizens learn the public business of the town, so 
that it is an advantage both to themselves and 
to the state that they should render this service. 
In doing so they are fulfilling a public duty. 

Village Government. — As the town settlement 
increases in population, the village comes into 
being. Farmers of the neighborhood who have 
been successful retire and build themselves 
houses in the village. New stores are opened, 
warehouses and lumber yards and even factories 
may be added, so that the village presents an 
aspect of far greater business activity than does 
a country settlement. The people living in a 
village, therefore, find it necessary to exercise 


THE TOWN AND VILLAGE 


167 


powers which are not required in the case of a 
town. They need special regulations concerning 
streets, sidewalks, fire, water supply, sewerage, and 
other matters. The state will, therefore, grant to 
villages a charter under which these extended 
powers may be exercised by the citizens of the 
village. In general, the government is similar to 
that of a town, but the powers are greater, and 
the designation of the officials is different. At 
the head of the village is the president. The by¬ 
laws of the village are made by the board of 
trustees, which also supervises the public busi¬ 
ness, levies taxes, and appropriates money for 
public expenses. Generally a village is a part 
of a township, so that the citizens of the village 
also have the right to vote for township officers. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Do you live in a town where there are town- 
meetings ? What are the powers of the town-meeting ? 

2. What are the officials of your town or village? 

3. What are the duties of a supervisor or trustee? 

4. What is the duty of the town clerk? Who has 
charge of the highways ? 

5. What advantages has a town over a city? 

6. Define town; village; charter; assessor; justice 
of the peace. 


CHAPTER XXII 

THE CITY 

What is a City ? — As more and more people 
settle in the village, it gradually grows into a 
city. It is important that we should understand 
all that is meant by the word “ city 7 ’. It is not 
merely a large number of houses located near 
each other, an area covered with streets and 
buildings, or a mass of people. It means more 
than all this. A city has a life of its own, a 
character which is developed by the experience 
of time like the character of an individual person. 

In the ancient world, when Greece and Rome 
were powerful, the city was even more important 
than it is to-day. At that time there was noth¬ 
ing above the city. It was the highest political 
unit. Let us consider the appearance of an 
ancient city. On a high hill were seen the shining 
walls and the gleaming roofs of temples and 
public halls. Standing among them were large 
168 


THE CITY 


169 



statues of marble, ivory, or even gold represent¬ 
ing the gods to whom the city was faithful. Upon 
the top of the cliffs that formed the sides of the 
citadel ran massive walls of masonry protecting 


Modern Athens 

the temples. On the lower slopes of the hill 
there were amphitheaters, more temples, public 
markets, and the dwellings of the citizens. All 
about the city was constructed another strong 
wall for the purpose of defense. Beyond this 
there lay the fields tilled by the citizens and their 






170 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


dependents. This city was to the people of the 
age~their home, church, country, their everything. 
If they left it to go to other lands or cities they 
were strangers, without peace or rest. Only in 
their own city were they free men. They loved 
their city with a personal love. The picture of 
its walls and temples impressed itself so clearly 
upon their minds that all its outlines could be 
recalled at any time. As you know the appear¬ 
ance of your home, so the ancient citizen carried 
with him the picture of his city wherever he went. 
These cities were governed by the citizens in pub¬ 
lic meetings. They did not acknowledge any 
political superior. 

Italian Cities. — If we should travel in Italy to¬ 
day, we should see many cities which remind us 
of these ancient cities, and which, in fact, are in 
many respects like them. Each Italian city — 
Florence, Venice, Milan, Rome, Naples — has its 
own character, different from that of any other. 
The style of its buildings, the appearance of its 
inhabitants, show these differences. These cities 
are proud of the fine and dignified appearance of 
their public buildings, their squares, and streets. 
We shall see, by thinking of these matters, that 
the cities have been the places where in the past 


THE CITY 


171 



our civilization has developed and has had its 
centers. It is there that freedom was born be¬ 
cause, under the protection of the city walls, the 
citizens felt a sense of freedom and equality 


Venice 

which the unprotected man in the country could 
not feel. 

American Cities. — Our American cities are 
not so picturesque nor do they have as much indi¬ 
vidual character as have these older cities of which 
we have spoken, but they, too, are more than 







172 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


mere crowds of people. Our cities have grown 
remarkably fast. In the year 1800 there was not 
one city in America which had one hundred thou¬ 
sand inhabitants. At that time our population 
lived in country districts, and was occupied largely 
in farming, but during the last century great 
manufactures were built up and the business of 
the country was centered in a number of large 
cities. Factory operatives, laborers, domestic 
servants, merchants, teachers, men of capital, 
came to live in larger and larger numbers in the 
citie^, so that to-day one third of our population 
is found in cities of over ten thousand inhabitants. 

Cosmopolitan Cities. — Our American cities are 
also notable because of the many people of 
foreign birth who live in them and make their 
population greatly diverse. A country district is 
usually settled by Americans or by people of 
some one nationality, — English, German, Scan¬ 
dinavian, Polish, or some other European nation. 
In the cities all of these elements are placed side 
by side. It is said that New York contains more 
Germans than any other city except Berlin, more 
Jews than any other city in the world, and 
more Irish than Dublin. In one school in New 
York twenty-seven languages are spoken. The 


THE CITY 


173 


policy of our country has been hospitable in in¬ 
viting European peoples to our shores. For this 
reason our population has grown very fast. It is 
not surprising that many of these immigrants 
stay in the large cities, where work may easily be 
secured, because more time and work are required 
for these immigrants to establish themselves on 
farm lands. This fact makes the government 
of our large cities very difficult. A city should 
be like a large family of people thinking and feel¬ 
ing alike, knowing and trusting one another. 
The various races in our cities have not lived to¬ 
gether long enough to become thoroughly ac¬ 
quainted. It takes some time for them to learn 
the nature of free institutions and to be able to 
take an intelligent part in their working. So we 
may say that the cities are the great laboratories 
where all the elements which come to us from 
foreign countries are melted and made over into 
our American nationality. For these reasons 
the government of an American city is more diffi¬ 
cult than that of a European city where the people 
all speak the same language. 

Cities Beautified. — The city ought to be made 
a dignified and beautiful home for its inhabitants. 
By the cities our civilization will be judged. If 


174 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



they are corrupt, if their streets and buildings 
are unattractive, we have much still to do. But 
they need not be other than beautiful and well 


Washington Monument, Richmond, Virginia 

governed if the people will only discharge their 
duties as citizens. Many of our American cities, 
indeed, may be looked upon already as models of 
what a city should be. They have clean, well- 















THE CITY 


175 


paved streets lined with shade trees; public 
squares flanked with impressive buildings; li¬ 
braries, museums, city halls, and schools of ample 
size and artistic design. They honor their dis¬ 
tinguished citizens by monuments erected to them 
in appropriate places. While all such improve¬ 
ments as these are expensive, they are an excel¬ 
lent investment, because they make every citizen 
happier and his property more valuable. 

A city should have a grateful memory for the 
achievements of the past. From time to time 
there should be festivals and pageants in which 
the history of the city is celebrated. Think of 
the story which is made by the history of a city 
like Boston, from the Puritan days, through the 
period of the great orators and reformers like 
Adams and Webster, down to the present, with 
all its great business activity. If all these dif¬ 
ferent experiences were expressed in a historical 
procession, or in a great historical play, what 
a glorious celebration it would be, and how it 
would increase the loyalty of its citizens. 

City Charter. — The government of the city is 
carried on under a charter, a statement of pow¬ 
ers either granted by the legislature or framed 
by the city for itself. The city is a larger 


176 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


town or village, with a greater population and 
a greater variety of activities. It needs greater 
powers of government and a more complicated 
organization than a village. 

The Mayor of the City. — At the head of the 
city government stands the mayor. He has the 
power of appointing certain officials, of watching 
over the execution of laws, of suggesting new 
ordinances to the city council. He generally has 
the right to veto ordinances passed by that body. 
The executive work of the city is carried out by 
numerous officials and boards which are grouped 
in various city departments. The arrangement 
and designation of these vary in different parts 
of the country. There are city treasurers, audi¬ 
tors, boards for the management of streets, parks, 
the police, the water supply, and the school sys¬ 
tem. If we live in a city, we ought to know the 
various departments of the city government 
and their business. We could then see how suc¬ 
cessfully each one is carrying on its work. 

The City Council. — The ordinances or laws of 
the city are made by the council. This city legis¬ 
lature may be composed of one or two bodies. 
Most commonly it has only one body. The city 
legislators are usually called aldermen. Their 


THE CITY 


177 


powers of legislation are granted in the charter of 
the city. The council may make certain rules 
with respect to the use of the streets and of the 
parks, as well as regulations controlling the work 
of the city officials. It also deals with the in¬ 
come and expenses of the city. The income is 
derived from taxes on property, from rentals and 
fees for public services such as the water supply, 
and from the return from franchises granted to 
public service corporations. The city may bor¬ 
row money for the purpose of constructing public 
buildings and works of various kinds, but the 
amount of indebtedness which a city can incur is 
limited by law. This precaution is taken in order 
that the council may not run into debt recklessly. 
Generally the debt of a city is not allowed to 
exceed five per cent, or at most ten per cent, of 
the entire assessed valuation of the property in 
the city. 

The Commission Plan. — In recent years, a 
large number of cities have adopted a new plan 
of government called the commission system. 
In many cases the city councils have not gov¬ 
erned well, as they were often ignorant and allowed 
themselves to be guided by corrupt influences. 
Under the new plan the powers of city government 


178 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


are exercised by a small commission chosen by the 
voters of the entire city. Each member of the 
commission is in charge of one of the departments, 
such as police, public works, and so on. To¬ 
gether, they form a board which makes ordinances 
and transacts the general business of the city. 
This plan was first tried at Galveston, Texas, 
after that town had been devastated by flood. 

The City Manager Plan. — Still another new 
plan concentrates the responsibility for good city 
government still further by putting the administra¬ 
tion of affairs into the hands of one man known 
as the city manager, who acts under the super¬ 
vision of the council or commission. He must 
be an expert selected for his technical training, 
experience, and administrative abilities. Under 
an efficient city manager, it is claimed that many 
of the advantages in administration secured in 
private business establishments can be secured for 
the public. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Give the names of the departments of your city 
government, and describe their work. 

2. Who is the mayor of your city? 

3. What powers has the mayor? 

4. What powers and duties has the city council? 


THE CITY 


179 


5. What important officials are appointed by the 
mayor of your city ? 

6. How is the work of street cleaning organized? 

7. How large a debt does your city have? 

8. What has been done towards beautifying your 
city or town? 

9. Attend a meeting of the aldermen or council 
and report its proceedings to your classmates. 

10. Giye some suggestions for improving the appear¬ 
ance of your city or town. 

11. How would you spend $500 about or within 
your schoolhouse to make it more attractive? 

12. Why do so many foreign immigrants settle in 
our cities? 

13. How does an immigrant become a voter? 

14. Define city. 

15. Name five of the largest cities in your state. 

16. Contrast the government of a city under the 
commission plan and under the city manager plan. 

17. Name a few cities that have managers. 


CHAPTER XXIII 


THE COUNTY 

What is a County ? — The county is the largest 
subdivision of a state, for purposes of local govern¬ 
ment, which exists in all states of the Union, with 
the exception of Louisiana, where the district or 
local government is called a parish. Where the 
town is very active, as in New England, the county 
is far less important. In the Southern states and 
in the Far West, however, where town government 
does not exist, the county performs all the work 
of local administration. 

County Government. — The county is governed 
by a board of county commissioners or super¬ 
visors. The county commissioners are usually 
chosen for the entire county, while the board of 
supervisors is made up of representatives from 
each town and each ward in a city or village. 
Consequently, a board of supervisors is much 
larger than a board of county commissioners. 
Whatever the system may be in a given state, 
180 


THE COUNTY 


181 


the powers of the board are similar. It appor¬ 
tions the state tax among the various townships, 
towns, villages, and cities in the county, equaliz¬ 
ing the tax assessments when any inequalities 
exist. It usually provides for the care of the poor 
of the whole county, and has charge of the poor- 
' houses and county farms. The construction and 
care of courthouses, prisons, and other buildings 
also devolve upon this body. It may also exercise 
supervision over the system of roads and over 
public education in the county. 

County Officers. — The usual county officers 
are the clerk, the treasurer, the register of deeds, 
the county school superintendent, the sheriff, and 
the district attorney or state’s attorney. All 
these officials are elected by the voters of the 
county. The register of deeds keeps a record of 
all landed property in the county. Whenever a 
piece of land is sold or mortgaged, the deed or 
mortgage is recorded by the register. In this 
way the transfer of the property is made public, 
and the purchaser is assured of getting a good 
title to the land bought by him. Should there 
be any mortgage on the land, or should any sale 
have been previously made, the record at the 
courthouse plainly shows the fact. The sheriff 


182 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


is an important official whose duty it is to secure 
the enforcement of law and the maintenance of 
order throughout the county. He has the power 
of making arrests, and he is also the custodian of 
the persons who are confined in the county jail. 

The business of the county is usually carried on 
in the county courthouse located in a town or city' 
known as the county seat. 

QUESTIONS 

1. How large is the county board in your county? 

2. Does your county have a county farm, and how 
is it managed ? 

3. How large is the governing body of your county, 
and how is it designated ? 

4. Name the officers of your county. 

5. What buildings belong to it, and where are they 
located ? 

6. Is every state divided into counties? What is 
a parish ? 

7. What are the duties of the county commissioners 
or supervisors ? 

8. Name the county seat of your county. Why 
was it chosen and when ? 

9. Name the largest county in your state; the 
smallest; the richest; the poorest. 

10. If you bought a farm in your county, where and 
to what county officer would you go to have your title 
recorded ? 


CHAPTER XXIV 

THE STATE GOVERNMENT 

Importance of State Government. — When the 

United States government was founded, there 
existed only thirteen states, but these states had 
in their possession a large tract of territory ex¬ 
tending to the Mississippi River which had not 
yet been settled. As the settlement extended 
into these new lands and as the population there 
grew, new states were formed and admitted into 
the Union. It was not long before this original 
territory had thus been settled and formed into 
states. This same line of action continued as 
we acquired our far western territory. 

The government of the state is very important 
to our general welfare. President Garfield once 
described it in the following language : —- 

“The state government touches the citizen and his 
interests twenty times where the national government 
touches him once. For the peace of our streets and the 
health of our cities; for the administration of justice in 
183 


184 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


nearly all that relates to the security of person and 
property, and the punishment of crime; for the edu¬ 
cation of our children, and the care of unfortunate and 
dependent citizens; for the collection and assessment 
of much the larger portion of our direct taxes, and for 
the proper expenditure of the same, — for all this, and 
much more, we depend upon the honesty and wisdom 
of our General Assembly and not upon the Congress at 
Washington.” 

But since the time of Garfield developments have 
been toward more vital connection between the 
people and the federal government, so that both 
state and national government mean much to the 
citizen, especially in time of war. 

State Insignia. — Each state has an individu¬ 
ality of its own. It has not only its name, but 
also its seal and its coat of arms. A coat of 
arms originally was the covering which a knight 
wore over his armor and upon which was em¬ 
broidered a shield. Upon this there were repre¬ 
sented various objects supposed to be connected 
with the character and history of the family of 
the knight. This coat of arms was inherited by 
son from father. Though armed and plumed 
knights have long passed away, coats of arms are 
still used to indicate somewhat the character of a 
family or a state. In selecting the coats of arms 


THE STATE GOVERNMENT 


185 


of our states, our forefathers tried to express 
their hopes and aspirations. They placed upon 
them not the fierce lions and tigers which abounded 
on the coats of arms of the ancient warriors. 
Our designs are usually in every way peaceful. 
The plow, the anvil, the locomotive, the steam¬ 
ship, and other means of promoting the well¬ 
being of mankind have taken the place of swords 
and beasts of prey. These coats of arms are 
found in the center of the great seal of the state. 
Some of the states have a separate state flag or 
banner, or they may have selected certain flowers 
to represent them. Nearly all the states have 
a motto. Among the people, humorous designa¬ 
tions are often given to states and their inhab¬ 
itants, such as buckeye, badger, gopher, hoosier, 
etc. (See pp. 159, 162.) 

Equality of States. — In law all the states of 
the Union, large and small, are equal, and can¬ 
not be interfered with by another state or by the 
federal government, but in actual size they vary 
greatly. Texas is almost five times as large as 
Illinois, and Illinois again is forty times as large 
as Rhode Island. 

The Constitution of the State. — The govern¬ 
ment of the state is carried on under the state 


186 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


constitution. Originally, the constitution of each 
state was drawn up by a convention. In earlier 
years, in most states this convention also adopted 
the constitution, though in some states it was 
submitted to the people. At present, if a new 
constitution is proposed for any state, the people 
are always given an opportunity to express their 
will upon the adoption of so important an instru¬ 
ment. The constitution may also be changed 
in parts and in detail by amendments. These 
amendments are proposed by the state legislature, 
and are then submitted to the people to be voted 
upon at a regular election. The constitution 
contains the general framework of government. 
It enumerates the departments of government 
and distributes the powers among them. It also 
forbids the exercise of certain powers. It regulates 
the right of voting, and determines what shall be 
necessary in order that men may hold office. 
The constitution also protects the individual citi¬ 
zens by prohibiting unlawful arrests, searches, 
and imprisonments; prescribing trial by jury; 
establishing freedom of religion; and, in general, 
building a strong wall around the rights of the 
individual. This part of the constitution is called 
the Bill or Declaration of Rights. 


THE STATE GOVERNMENT 


187 


The Governor. — The work of the state is 
carried on in the counties by the officials and 
boards which we have already considered. The 
central government of the state is composed of 
the governor, the executive officers, the legisla¬ 
ture, "and the state courts. The governor repre¬ 
sents the unity of state government. He may 
appoint certain officials, usually with the consent 
of the Senate in the case of important appoint¬ 
ments. At present, in some states, appointments 
are made not as a matter of political favor, but 
on the basis of civil service examinations. All 
candidates for a certain office have the right to 
be examined, and appointment must be made 
from those who stand highest on the list and 
have passed the test with the greatest credit to 
themselves. 

The governor is also the commander of the 
state militia. He controls its movements. Should 
great disorders or rioting arise in any part of the 
state, he may call out the militia to restore order. 
The governor usually has the power to pardon 
persons who have been sentenced to prison or to 
other forms of punishment. When a sentence 
has once been passed by a court, it has no power 
to discharge the accused. It is sometimes dis- 


188 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


covered, however, after the trial, that a prisoner 
is really innocent of the crime of which he was 
convicted. If his innocence is clearly established, 
or if he has reformed, the governor may pardon 
him. This great power should, however, not be 
used to allow prisoners to escape just punishment. 

An important legislative function of the gov¬ 
ernor is the preparation of a message which he 
sends to the legislature or reads before it in per¬ 
son. In this message he recommends such changes 
in the law as may seem necessary to him. If 
he is a man of power and wisdom, he will be able 
greatly to influence the action of the legislature. 
When an act has been passed by the legislature, 
it must be submitted to the governor, who has 
the right either to approve it or to veto it. In 
case it is vetoed, it may still become a law if the 
legislature passes it again. In most states, how¬ 
ever, the act must be re-passed in such a case 
by a vote larger than a simple majority. 

Executive Officers. — The executive work of 
the state is carried on by various officials. The 
oldest among these are the secretary of state, 
the treasurer, the attorney-general, the super¬ 
intendent of education, and the auditor. The 
secretary of state keeps the record of all the 


THE STATE GOVERNMENT 


189 


laws and important public acts of state govern¬ 
ment. He has in his custody the great seal of 
the state, which must be affixed to the original 
copy of every law. The attorney-general acts 
as attorney for the state in all cases in which it is 
a party, and gives rulings on all matters of law 
referred to him. The superintendent of educa¬ 
tion has charge of the schools of the state, oversees 
their general plans, makes courses of study, and 
generally directs their work. The auditor’s duty 
is to issue orders for the expenditures of the state 
money and keep a record of it. 

Commissions. — A great part of the business 
of the state is nowadays carried on through boards 
or commissions. These boards are usually com¬ 
posed of men who are appointed on account of 
their special knowledge of the subject with 
which they deal. Thus, we have commissions of 
health, of charities and correction, of corporations, 
of taxation, of railways, of public utilities, and of 
labor. Some of these commissions simply make 
inquiries and gather information. Thus, it is 
important that the officials and citizens of the 
state should know about the methods of assess¬ 
ment in all parts of the commonwealth. The 
tax commission may devote its energies for a 


190 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


time entirely to studying this question. It may 
then make certain recommendations that the 
laws and the methods of doing public business 
be changed. Often these boards or commissions 
have the right to make rules and regulations 
which officials and citizens must observe, or they 
may hear and decide cases arising among citizens. 
The public service or railway commissions some¬ 
times have the power to prescribe just and rea¬ 
sonable rates and charges to be made by public 
corporations. 

State Legislatures. — The legislature of the 
state consists of two houses: the smaller house 
is called the Senate; the larger, the House of 
Representatives. In some states the latter is 
called the House of Delegates or the Assembly. 
The senators are elected from districts which are 
larger, and their term of office is usually longer 
than that of the representatives. The House of 
Representatives has sometimes three times as 
many members as the Senate. While the senators 
are ordinarily elected for four years, the represent¬ 
atives are elected for two years only. Of course, 
every state has its own system in these matters, 
so that we are here simply stating the arrange¬ 
ments which have been made in most of the states. 


THE STATE GOVERNMENT 


191 


The presiding officer in the House of Represent¬ 
atives is called the speaker. The Senate is pre¬ 
sided over either by the lieutenant-governor or 
one of the senators who acts as president. In 
both houses the detailed work is carried on in 
committees. These are called standing committees 
when they are regularly appointed at each session, 
and select or special committees when they are ap¬ 
pointed for a short time and for a special pur¬ 
pose. The most important standing committees 
are those dealing with revenue and expenditure, 
with education, with banking, with railroads, with 
elections, with manufactures, and with agriculture. 
Every bill which is introduced must be referred 
to a committee, and unless the committee makes 
a favorable report on it, it is not likely that the 
bill will become a law. The speaker has the 
power of appointing committees and of main¬ 
taining order in the House. Any member who 
desires to address the House must first catch 
the eye of the speaker and obtain recognition 
from him. 

In most states the legislature meets every two 
years. The length of the session is limited by 
law in most states. It is believed to be wise for 
the legislature to work with a will and to finish 


192 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


up its business in as short a time as possible. 
Should any important matter come up after the 
legislature has adjourned, the governor has the 
power to call an extra session. 

State Courts. — The work of the state courts 
deals with the ordinary personal and property 
rights of citizens as well as with criminal acts 
committed against the state itself. Whenever 
only the rights of a private individual are dealt 
with, we speak of a “ civil ” action ; a “ criminal ” 
action takes place when an offense has been com¬ 
mitted that is serious enough to affect public 
peace and security in general. In such cases 
we say that the act has been committed against 
the peace of the state or commonwealth. The 
manner of dealing with these various kinds of 
cases has already been described above. State 
courts are divided into the following classes: 
justice courts for the trial of cases of small im¬ 
portance ; probate courts for the proving of wills, 
the administration of estates, and the guardian¬ 
ship of minor children; courts of general civil 
and criminal jurisdiction; and courts of appeal, 
or supreme courts, to which cases are brought 
when the decision of a lower court is objected to. 
The judges of state courts are usually elected by 


THE STATE GOVERNMENT 


193 


popular vote, or appointed by the governor; it 
is important that good and experienced judges 
should be kept in service as long as possible. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What is the design of the great seal of your state ? 

2. Does your state have a flag, a motto, a state 
flower ? 

3. How is the Railway or Public Utilities Commis¬ 
sion in your state composed, and what are its powers? 

4. Read the Declaration of Rights in your state 
constitution, and see how it protects personal rights 
against interference. 


CHAPTER XXV 


THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 

The National Capital. — Our national capital 
is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. 
The site upon which it stands was selected by 
Washington himself. He was fond of this region, 
because near by is situated his own estate of 
Mount Vernon. Before a single building was 
constructed, a skilled engineer drew up a com¬ 
plete plan for the city, showing all the streets, 
avenues, and parks which were to be created. 

The Capitol. — The city really has two centers, 
if such a thing is possible, the Capitol and the 
White House. On an eminence in the eastern 
part of the city stands the Capitol, surmounted 
by its majestic dome. You have often seen a 
picture of this noble building. Its vast size does 
not surprise you, but all its parts are so con¬ 
structed that they are in perfect harmony with 
each other. Its perfect proportions, — that is, 
the relation of its parts and its lines to one an¬ 
other,— and its size make it impressive. With 
194 



THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 195 

the vast stairway sweeping up towards the build¬ 
ing, with its marble wings extended on either side, 
and the perfectly fashioned dome crowning the 
entire structure, it may be said there is no building 


The Washington Monument, Washington, D.C. 

in the world more fit to represent national strength 
and permanence than the Capitol in Washington. 
It is surrounded by other magnificent structures, 
the Congressional Library, the Supreme Court 
building, and the office buildings for Congress. 





196 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



The White House. — Pennsylvania Avenue 
leads westward from the Capitol. It is a broad 
street, the principal thoroughfare of Washington. 
It leads up to the White House, the official home 


The White House 
Home of the Presidents 

of the President, a simple building surrounded by 
beautiful park-like gardens. The White House 
is flanked on either side by the large buildings 
occupied by the Treasury and the departments 
of State, the Navy, and War. In front of the 
White House is Lafayette Square, a place of 






THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 


197 


great historical interest. In its center is a statue 
of Andrew Jackson, the soldier President. The 
square itself is surrounded by houses in which 
have lived such men as James Madison, Daniel 



Arlington Mansion 


Webster, Charles Sumner, John Hay, Admiral 
Decatur, and others famous in our history. 

Arlington. — When we visit Washington, there 
are two places which' we should not fail to see. 
One of these is Arlington, situated about six 
miles from the city, south of the Potomac River. 





198 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


It is the old home of General Lee, the principal 
military leader of the Confederates. The temple¬ 
like house stands on a high eminence, from which 
the city of Washington is seen with all its beau- 



Mount Vernon 


tiful buildings and monuments. But Arlington 
has a still greater interest. It is a soldiers’ cem¬ 
etery. Here are buried thousands upon thou¬ 
sands of the brave soldiers who fell during the 
Civil War. As we look to the right and to 
the left of the mansion, we see thousands of 





THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT 


199 


little white headstones, each inscribed with the 
name of one of these men. Among them are 
larger monuments erected to generals and other 
high officers. We shall leave this place with a 
deep impression of the beauty of our national 
capital, and of the great sacrifices which have 
been made. 

Mount Vernon. — The other place is Washing¬ 
ton’s home, Mount Vernon, which lies about ten 
miles below Arlington, on a rolling bluff high above 
the Potomac River. The place has changed very 
little since Washington lived there. We are trans¬ 
ported more than one hundred years back to the 
very beginning of our national life. The sim¬ 
plicity and dignity of the surroundings help us to 
understand the character of the first President. 
He himself is buried near his home, adjoining the 
gardens, where flowers are still blossoming as on 
the day of his death. Mount Vernon is, indeed, 
a national sanctuary where from the memories 
of the past we may get inspiration for the future. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Where was the first capital of the United States 
located? Where was it removed the first time, and 
where is its present location ? 


200 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


2. Name six of the most noted government buildings 
in Washington. 

3. Why are Arlington and Mount Vernon famous? 

4. Find out all you can about the Washington 
Monument — when built, what it commemorates, etc. 

5. What is the District of Columbia ? 


CHAPTER XXVI 


THE PRESIDENT 

Importance of the Office. — The President of the 
United States is an official whose power is greater 
than that of many a king. He is intrusted with 
this power in behalf of the people, and as the 
American nation grows stronger its President 
becomes more powerful and important in the 
world. Yet he is not surrounded, by any royal 
splendor or show of office. The earliest Presidents 
were simple in their manner of living, and the 
early traditions have been maintained. Though 
the Presidents no longer ride on horseback to their 
inauguration as Jefferson did, their mode of life 
is still very simple, and they avoid every unneces¬ 
sary display of power and wealth. 

The President’s Daily Work. — The White 
House itself is a dignified but simple residence 
for the head of a nation. The business office of 
the President is a small one-story building ad¬ 
joining the White House and connected with 
it by a covered walk. The private office of the 
201 


202 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


President and the cabinet room, the two rooms 
in which the most important interests of our 
nation are discussed and determined, are together 
no larger than an ordinary classroom. 

A visit to the President is most interesting. 
When he receives visitors, the anteroom to the 
office is crowded with persons passing in and 
out. There are senators and representatives de¬ 
sirous of presenting some friend or some office- 
seeker. There are diplomats bringing distin¬ 
guished visitors from other countries. There are 
delegations of representative citizens from various 
parts of the country, who wish to urge upon the 
President some needed reform. In the short time 
at his disposal the President meets all these peo¬ 
ple, listens to their wishes, and has a few cordial 
words for each one of his visitors. Many people, 
of course, desire to see the President out of mere 
curiosity. Formerly the President held a general 
reception several times a week, to which any one 
might come just for the purpose of shaking hands 
with him, but that is no longer done. The time 
of the great magistrate is so valuable that no one 
should call upon him, unless for some definite and 
necessary purpose. 

The person of the President is protected at all 


THE PRESIDENT 


203 


times by special policemen and secret service 
agents. Men whose character is not known will 
not be admitted to his presence at all, because 
there is reason to fear that some lunatic or crimi¬ 
nal might desire to make a murderous attack 
upon the President, of the kind to which Garfield 
and McKinley fell victims. 

The work of the President requires ability of 
the highest order. He has to carry the most im¬ 
portant matters in his mind and make decisions 
every day upon which the welfare of numberless 
people depends. He must be a man of strong 
character, who will not be swayed by influence, 
but who will set before him the one purpose of 
serving the nation and the people. He must be 
able to say “ No ”. It is desirable that he should 
be a man of experience in public affairs, one whose 
character can be judged by what he has done in 
other positions. President Garfield had been a 
congressman and senator for many years. Presi¬ 
dents Cleveland, McKinley, Roosevelt, and Wilson 
had been governors of great states. President 
Harrison had been a senator; President Taft, a 
judge. All these men were conspicuous and well 
known by the American people before they be¬ 
came Presidents. 


204 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


The work of the President is arduous. From 
early morning until late at night, the business of 
his responsible office weighs on his mind. Thou¬ 
sands of letters come to the White House urging 
upon the President action of one kind or another. 
All the departments of government have to be 
watched by him, and he is in a measure respon¬ 
sible for the legislation which passes through Con¬ 
gress, and which ultimately is submitted to him 
for his approval. So the President finds little 
leisure and rest. The responsibilities of the great 
office are a strain on the strongest man. 

Election of the President. — The election of 
the President is carried on in a roundabout man¬ 
ner. The Constitution provides that at the 
time of the Presidential election each state shall 
choose a number of electors equal to its joint 
representation in the Senate and the House of 
Representatives. Some time after the election, 
the electors that have been chosen meet in the 
capital of the state and cast their votes for some 
man for the office of President of the United 
States. They also elect a Vice-President in a 
similar manner. These votes are then sent to 
Washington and counted in the presence of the 
Senate and House of Representatives. All these 


THE PRESIDENT 


205 


forms are observed at the present time, but as a 
matter of fact as soon as the November election 
day is over we know who has been chosen. The 
men who are nominated as Presidential electors 
on our party tickets have been pledged before¬ 
hand to vote for a certain candidate. They will 
not, therefore, vote for any one else. We know 
as soon as they are selected for whom they will 
vote. It has, therefore, been suggested that it 
would be better to abolish the electoral college 
altogether and have the people vote directly for 
the President and Vice-President. To do this it 
would be necessary to amend the Constitution. 

Inauguration of the President. — The President 
is introduced into office, or inaugurated, on the 
fourth da}^ of March following his election. This 
is a very imposing ceremony. First comes the 
inauguration of the Vice-President, which takes 
place in the Senate chamber. There are gathered 
the outgoing and the incoming President and Vice- 
President, the justices of the Supreme Court, the 
senators and representatives, the foreign diplo¬ 
mats, and many distinguished visitors. The Vice- 
President makes a brief address, and then is 
sworn into office. Thereupon, the entire com¬ 
pany pass outside of the Capitol to a huge plat- 


206 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


form or grandstand which has been erected in 
front of the Capitol. There a vast multitude of 
people is alreadjr awaiting the President-elect. 
After he has arrived and all is quiet, the Chief 
Justice of the United States administers to him 
the oath of office, and he gives his inaugural ad¬ 
dress. After this has been finished, the Presi¬ 
dent, together with his predecessor, drives up 
Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House, where 
they review a grand military procession arranged in 
honor of the occasion. Regular troops and militia 
from all parts of the Union, governors with their 
staffs, and marines from the navy take part in this 
display, which usually lasts for several hours. 

The President’s Power. — The President has 
the general power of overseeing the work of the 
various executive departments of the government. 
It is his duty to see that the laws are faithfully 
executed. To this end he must not only instruct 
the officials and issue regulations to them; but, 
should the laws be opposed in any locality, it is 
his right and duty to enforce them, if necessary, 
through the military power of the nation. 

Appointing Officers. — The President has the 
right to appoint many important officers of the 
federal government. The less important officials 


THE PRESIDENT 


207 


are appointed by the heads of the departments. 
The President appoints cabinet ministers, heads 
of departments, postmasters in cities, and diplo¬ 
matic officials. Such appointments must be sub¬ 
mitted to the Senate, and that body must confirm 
them before they become valid. It is, therefore, 
a common practice for the President to consult the 
Senate before he nominates any person for any 
important office. 

Making Treaties. — The President has authority 
to negotiate treaties and to receive foreign minis¬ 
ters and ambassadors. He thus has a great in¬ 
fluence upon our relations with foreign countries. 
It often depends upon him whether this country 
shall sustain friendly relations with other nations 
or whether it shall incur the danger of war. He is 
also the commander of the army and navy. He 
appoints and promotes the officers, and controls the 
movements of ships and troops. It is by order of 
the President that the fleet makes long trips into 
foreign waters. By his order, too, the army may 
be concentrated or stationed at this or that place. 

President's Messages. — The President has 
the right to address Congress on legislation and to 
urge upon the national legislators such changes in 
the laws as he may consider wise. For this end, 


208 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


he writes an annual message at the beginning of 
the session of Congress as well as special messages 
on occasion. It is not intended that the President 
should take a further personal part in legislation. 
When he has called the attention of Congress 
to certain needs, it is for that body to consider 
the manner in which they may be met. 

The President may read his message to Congress 
or only send it to the houses for their information. 
For over a hundred years before the administra¬ 
tion of President Wilson, no President had read 
his messages to Congress. President Wilson 
revived this impressive custom. 

Veto Power. — When an act has been passed, 
as is the case in the states, it must be submitted 
to the President, who has the right to veto it. 
If a bill is sent to the President during the last 
ten days of a session, he need not return it to 
Congress with his signature or veto. If he does 
not sign it, the act fails and does not become a 
law. This is called the pocket veto. Acts sent to 
the President before this time must either be 
vetoed or signed by him and returned to Congress. 
That body has the right to pass a bill over the 
President’s veto if two thirds of the members are 
in favor of doing so. 


THE PRESIDENT 


209 


Presidential Succession. — In case of the death 
or disability of the President, the Vice-President 
becomes President. If the latter also dies or be¬ 
comes disabled, the law provides that the Secre¬ 
tary of State shall act as President. Should he 
die, some one of the other secretaries of depart¬ 
ments will discharge the duties of the office, the 
order of succession being prescribed by law. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What other countries are republics? 

2. How many Presidents has the United States 
had ? Which of them died in office ? 

3. What previous public offices had the last three 
Presidents held ? 

4. Which Presidents have held prominent military 
offices ? 

5. Which of them started as poor boys? 

6. What is the electoral college ? 

7. Tell how a President is elected. 

8. Describe the inauguration of a President. 

9. Compare present inaugural ceremonies with 
those in Washington's and Jefferson's time. 

10. What appointive powers has the President? 

11. What are the purposes of the messages sent to 
Congress by the President? Find a copy of one and 
discuss it briefly. 

12. Describe the veto power of the President. 


CHAPTER XXVII 


THE CABINET 

Heads of Departments. — In the work of ad¬ 
ministering the affairs of the nation, the President 
is assisted by the cabinet. This council is com¬ 
posed of the heads of the great executive depart¬ 
ments. These officials are appointed by the 
President and are responsible to him. Should he 
be dissatisfied with their action, he may call upon 
them to resign. We have already considered the 
work which is performed by some of these de¬ 
partments, but it will be well to rehearse them 
in this place, as they are important. 

The Secretary of State.—The Secretary of State 
administers the foreign affairs of the nation. He 
controls the actions of our diplomatic representa¬ 
tives abroad as well as of the consular officials. 
It is also his duty to preserve important state 
documents and the original copies of the laws, 
to Which the great seal of the United States 
is affixed. In the library of this department we 
210 


THE CABINET 


211 


may see such precious documents as the original 
copy of the Declaration of Independence and of 
the Constitution of the United States. 

The Secretary of the Treasury. — The Secretary 
of the Treasury administers the financial depart¬ 
ment of the government. He oversees the col¬ 
lection of revenues and the payment of them to 
the various departments which are to expend 
them. He has charge of the issue of bonds when¬ 
ever the United States must raise money for some 
special purpose. Thus, to meet the expenses of 
the Great War, more than $16,000,000,000 was 
raised, under the direction of the Secretary of the 
Treasury, by the sale of Liberty Bonds. 

The Secret Service Bureau is under the charge 
of the Secretary of the Treasury. It has for its 
duties only two, the investigating of counterfeiting 
and the guarding of the person of the President. 
The work of the Secret Service has since the war 
began, however, been extended somewhat and it 
assists the Bureau of Investigation. 

The Secretary of War. — The Secretary of War 
is in charge of our military establishment. The 
action and movements of our troops and provi¬ 
sion for their maintenance are under his care. 
Upon the entry of the United States into the 


212 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


World War, this department became very im¬ 
portant, having as its duties to select, organize, 
equip, and train the large army sent into the war. 

In this department there is also the Bureau of 
Insular Affairs, where the business of our outlying 
territories, such as the Philippine Islands, Porto 
Rico, and the Panama Canal Zone, are looked 
after. 

The Attorney-General. — The Attorney-General 
is the legal adviser of the government. Whenever 
an important action is to be taken, his counsel is 
invoked by the President or other high officials. 
He also represents the government in great law¬ 
suits, and superintends the action of all the federal 
district-attorneys throughout the nation. 

The Attorney-General has charge of the Bureau 
of Investigation, the head of which is the Chief of 
the Bureau of Investigation in Washington. The 
work of this bureau includes practically everything 
that is a violation of the federal law. It investi¬ 
gates bankruptcy cases, violations of the national 
banking law, espionage cases, violations of the 
neutrality laws, and does practically all the war 
investigation work. 

The Postmaster-General. — The Postmaster- 
General has charge of the business of the post- 


THE CABINET 


213 


offices of the country, of making contracts for the 
transportation and delivery of the mails, and of 
appointing the postmasters in the smaller towns 
and in the rural districts. 

The Secretary of the Navy. — The Secretary of 
the Navy has control of all naval affairs. The 
construction and movements of battleships, the 
direction of the Naval Academy, the control of 
navy-yards, are some of the important matters 
that come under his authority. 

The Secretary of the Interior. — Under the 
charge of the Secretary of the Interior are such 
interests as the public lands, the affairs of the 
Indian tribes, the Geological Survey, the Bureau 
of Education, and the Pension Office. The pres¬ 
ervation of our natural resources in lands, forests, 
and mines comes especially under the charge of 
this department, which gives it great importance 
in promoting the welfare of the people. 

The Secretary of Agriculture. — The work of 
the Secretary of Agriculture consists in superin¬ 
tending all the agencies through which the national 
government is attempting to help the farmers in 
making their work more profitable. A large num¬ 
ber of scientific experts are employed in seeking 
for improvements in agriculture. 


214 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


The Secretary of Commerce.—The Department 
of Commerce includes the bureaus of the census, 
of navigation, of fisheries, and of the coast survey. 

The Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce 
has the supervision of the commercial reports of 
our consuls under its charge and furnishes infor¬ 
mation on trade conditions to our manufacturers 
and exporters. 

The Secretary of Labor. — His department 
deals with matters relating to labor and immigra¬ 
tion. The Bureau of Immigration sees that the 
laws which govern the treatment of immigrants, 
and which exclude from our country people who 
are diseased, or paupers, or criminals, are enforced. 

The Federal Trade Commission. — The Federal 
Trade Commission keeps in touch with the man¬ 
agement of the great industries of our country to 
see that they observe the national laws. 

Civil Service. — In these various departments 
over three hundred thousand officials and clerks 
are employed. Some of these positions are filled 
by appointment by the President alone, others 
by appointment by the President with the consent 
of the Senate, but most of the positions are filled 
through civil service examinations. Several times 
during the year examinations for the various 


THE CABINET 


215 


branches of the service are held in our large cities. 
Any person may be admitted to these tests. The 
candidate must answer certain questions sub¬ 
mitted to him, which test his general education 
and his special fitness for the work required. A 
good high-school education, with some special 
study in the particular branches, should fit any one 
to pass the examinations for clerkships. Those 
who have passed with credit are placed on a list 
which is sent to the head of the department that 
has the appointing power. He must make his 
selection from the highest names on this list. It is 
veiy desirable that people should be appointed to 
office because of their ability to do the work re¬ 
quired and not for political reasons. If they prove 
lazy or incompetent, they can be dismissed by the 
head of the department, but any new appointment 
must be made from those who have passed .the 
examination. This system is the only one under 
which the affairs of government can be managed in 
a businesslike way. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Send to the Civil Service Commission at Wash¬ 
ington or to the Commission in your state, if there is 
one, for samples of the questions that are put to 
candidates for government clerkships. See what sub- 


216 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


jects you would have to study in order to pass a civil 
service examination. 

2. Name the present members of the cabinet, and 
ascertain if you can what public positions they held 
before being appointed to their present positions. 

3. Should there be a federal department of educa¬ 
tion ? What could such a department do ? 

4. What are some of the advantages of the civil 
service method of selecting public officers ? 

5. Name the departments of the cabinet in the 
order of their importance and value to the country. 

6. Is there any difference in this order of impor¬ 
tance and value between times of peace and times of 
war? 

7. By whom are the cabinet members appointed? 

8. Are the members always chosen from the same 
political party which the President represents ? Is this 
right? 

9. Why is the Life Saving Service under the con¬ 
trol of the Secretary of the Treasury? 

10. Why should the Secretary of War have charge 
of the Philippines and the Panama Canal Zone ? What 
is this zone, and how was it acquired ? 

11. What postmasters are appointed by the Post¬ 
master-General? Who appoints the others? 

12. Would you like a government position? Why? 

13. What is treason? What is a traitor? 


CHAPTER XXVIII 
THE CONGRESS 

Congress. — The Congress of the United States 
is composed of the Senate and the House of Rep¬ 
resentatives. The custom has developed, how¬ 
ever, that when we speak of a congressman, we 
refer to a member of the House. A member of 
the Senate is always spoken of as a senator. 

Senators. — In the Senate of the United States 
each state, no matter how large or small, has two 
representatives. Rhode Island and Texas are on 
a perfect equality in the Senate. The Senate, 
therefore, is not a very large body. There are less 
than one hundred senators, and they come to 
know each other very well. Senators are elected 
for a term of six years, but as they are frequently 
reelected it has happened that senators have held 
their office for as long as twenty or thirty years. 
Senators were formerly elected by the state legis¬ 
latures. But the 17th Amendment, adopted in 
1913, provides that they are to be elected directly 
217 


218 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


by the voters in the states. This tends to make 
the Senate more directly subject to public control. 

Congressmen. — The members of the House of 
Representatives are elected directly by the people. 
Each state is divided into congressional districts 
according to its population. New York, the 
largest state, has forty-three districts, the small¬ 
est states have only one. At the present time 
the House of Representatives has four hundred 
and thirty-five members. The representatives 
hold office for two years only, but are also fre¬ 
quently reelected. Since the House is a much 
larger body than the Senate, its members do not 
become so well acquainted with one another. 
The members who have held office longest acquire 
great influence. 

The Speaker. — One of the congressmen is 
elected Speaker, or presiding officer, of the House. 
He is the acknowledged leader of the majority 
party in the House, and as such wields a very 
great influence in determining what legislation 
shall be taken up and how much time shall be 
given to each measure. No member is permitted 
to speak unless he is recognized by the Speaker, 
and as the Speaker cannot recognize all who desire 
to speak, it follows that he has the power to select 


THE CONGRESS 


219 


the men whom he will permit to be heard on the 
floor of the House. A member of the House can, 
therefore, accomplish very little if the Speaker is 
opposed to him. Members of long service in the 
House will be made chairmen of the important 
committees. The Speaker will consult with these 
men upon legislation. In this way the policy of 
the House is determined. 

The Vice-President. — The Senate is presided 
over by the Vice-President of the United States. 
He is not a member of the Senate, and has no 
vote unless the senators are equally divided 
in opinion, in which case his vote decides the 
question. 

In the House the members are strictly limited 
in the time given to them for speaking. Until 
1917 a senator could speak as long as he wished 
on a bill. Sometimes senators talked so long 
against certain bills that the session ended before 
the bill could be passed. This was called “ talking 
a bill to death.’’ This abuse has now been ended 
by the adoption of a rule which enables the sen¬ 
ate to close the debate. 

Bills. — As in the state legislatures, every bill 
which is introduced must be referred to a commit¬ 
tee. It cannot be acted upon until the committee 


220 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


has reported. Many thousands of bills are never 
reported upon, but, as we say, they die in the 
committee room or they are put to sleep there. 
Any citizen has the right to appear before a com¬ 
mittee in order to express his opinion on proposed 
legislation. 

All bills for the purpose of raising revenue, that 
is, for imposing or changing taxes, must first be 
introduced in the House. The Senate may amend 
such bills when they come to it, so that it also 
exercises a great power over the revenues. The 
Senate has also the right to give or refuse its con¬ 
sent to any treaty which the President has negoti¬ 
ated with a foreign country. Thus, it comes about 
that the Senate exerts a great influence over our 
foreign affairs. Without the approval of the 
Senate it is impossible for the President to make a 
treaty or to appoint certain diplomatic officials. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Describe the appearance of the Senate chamber, 
or of the hall of the House of Representatives. 

2. Name six prominent senators and six members 
of the House about whom you have recently read in 
the daily papers. 

3. Why do the members of the House submit to 
the power of the Speaker? 


THE CONGRESS 


221 


4. Who is the member of Congress for the district 
in which you live? What was his business before his 
election ? 

5. Does it seem just that Texas or New York 
should have no more senators than Rhode Island or 
Delaware ? 

6. How many members has the Senate now ? The 
House of Representatives? 

7. Are the territories represented in Congress? 

8. What do we mean by an allowance for mileage ? 
By the franking privilege? 

9. How and for how long is a senator elected ? 

10. In case of the death of a senator, how is his 
successor chosen? 

11. How many congressional districts are there in 
your state ? Why ? 

12. Tell what you know about debate in the House. 
In the Senate. 

13. When does a treaty negotiated by the President 
become a law ? 

14. When can the President of the Senate vote? 

15. Why should all bills for the raising of revenue 
originate in the House? What power has the Senate 
regarding such bills? 


CHAPTER XXIX 

THE FEDERAL COURTS 

Powers of the Courts. — The courts of the 
federal government are of great dignity and 
authority. The entire government is carried on 
under the Constitution, but the courts have the 
power to decide as to the meaning of any con¬ 
stitutional provision. Congress has the right to 
legislate, but its action must be limited by the 
powers granted in the Constitution. If it goes 
beyond these powers in the opinion of the Su¬ 
preme Court, the court will declare its action 
unconstitutional. A decision of this kind would 
render the act void, because whatever law the 
courts do not approve has no validity. 

District and Circuit Courts. — The lowest fed¬ 
eral court is the district court. There is one such 
tribunal in every state, and the larger states have 
two or more. Formerly there were nine circuit 
courts, but these ceased to exist on January 1,1912, 
222 


THE FEDERAL COURTS 


223 


and their functions were taken over by the district 
courts. The next highest class of federal courts 
is made up of the nine circuit courts of appeals. 
This grade of courts was created in 1891 to hear 
many cases which formerly were tried before the 
Supreme Court. There are nine such courts in 
the United States. The circuit court of appeals 
is composed of three judges, who may‘be either 
circuit or district judges. There must, however, 
be at least one circuit judge in the court. The 
official who carries out the decrees and judgments 
of a federal court is called the marshal. In the 
state courts, this duty is performed by the 
sheriff. 

The Supreme Court. — Any case involving the 
question whether a law or an official act is % valid 
under the Constitution may be taken to the Su¬ 
preme Court of the United States. This is also 
true in certain criminal cases involving life and 
liberty. The Supreme Court is composed of nine 
justices who are lawyers of great ability. The 
court is a body of impressive dignity. When it 
is in session, the judges wear judicial gowns, 
which add to their aspect of gravity. The ablest, 
attorneys from all parts of the nation appear be¬ 
fore this court to argue cases. 


224 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


Jurisdiction. — The federal courts hear cases 
which arise under the federal Constitution or 
under the laws passed by Congress. The ordinary 
criminal cases are tried in the courts of the state. 
If a person should sell liquor to Indians, or should 
steal timber from a federal forest reserve, he 
would be tried before a federal court. Ordinary 
lawsuits between citizens come up before the 
state courts, but if we are suing a citizen of 
another state, we may bring our action either in 
a court of his state or in a federal court. In such 
cases the federal courts are often appealed to. 
Federal courts also hear all cases relating to navi¬ 
gation on the large rivers, lakes, and the sea. 

Appointment of Judges. — The judges in all 
the federal courts are appointed by the President 
with the consent of the Senate. They are not 
appointed for a definite term, but during good be¬ 
havior. This means that they hold office for life, 
unless they should be guilty of some crime or mis¬ 
demeanor. In that case they may be deprived of 
their office, after being impeached by the House 
and found guilty by the Senate. 

Impeachment of Other Officials. — Other high 
officials, including the President, may be im¬ 
peached and tried in a similar manner. Only one 


THE FEDERAL COURTS 


225 


President has been impeached, and he was not 
found guilty by the Senate. To pronounce a judge 
or official .guilty, the votes of at least two thirds 
of the senators are required. 

QUESTIONS 

1. Is it better that judges should be elected for a 
limited time, or appointed for life? 

2. For what crimes could a marshal make arrests? 

3. Name the present justices of the Supreme Court. 
Did they hold judicial office before coming to their 
present positions? 

4. What should be the character and attainments 
of a Supreme Court Justice? 

5. What powers has the Supreme Court? 

6. Why is it necessary to have such a body? 

7. Name one law passed by Congress which the 
Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional. 

8. What are district and circuit courts? 

9. In what court would a postmaster accused of 
embezzling government money be tried? Why? 

10. If you were injured in another state and brought 
suit to recover damages, where and in what courts 
could the case be tried ?j 


CHAPTER XXX 


INTERNATIONAL UNIONS 

Although our state and nation are very power¬ 
ful, they necessarily have relations with other coun¬ 
tries. No nation is entirely self-sufficient. The 
nations should codperate in order that the greatest 
advantages of civilization may be secured. Thus, 
nations help one another in gaining important 
information, in protecting one another against 
epidemics, in forwarding one another’s mail, and 
in making it possible to have commercial inter¬ 
course. For these various purposes international 
unions have been created, of many of which the 
United States is a member. 

The Hague Court. — The most important inter¬ 
national organization is The Hague Court of Ar¬ 
bitration, established in 1899 to settle controver¬ 
sies between nations, for war is a most costly and 
cruel method of settling international differences. 

Every nation may nominate representatives to 
the Hague Court. From this list any countries 
226 


INTERNATIONAL UNIONS 


227 


which have a dispute may choose persons who 
shall act as a court of arbitration. The nations 
entering the Hague treaties bind themselves to 
abide by them. Had the Central Powers of 
Europe not proved false to their signed agree¬ 
ments made in the Hague Court but submitted the 
disputes to arbitration, the bitter struggle of the 
World War might have been averted. 

The members of this international court, which 
holds its sessions at The Hague in Holland, have 
signed agreements binding them to certain rules 
of conduct in times of war, for humanity in war¬ 
fare, for protection of non-belligerents, etc. Had 
Germany regarded these rules and the rights of 
humanity and of non-belligerents, the United 
States would not have been drawn into the war to 
protect the rights of humanity. 

The League of Nations. — The Peace Conference 
of 1919 drew up a covenant or constitution of a 
League of Nations to prevent wars and secure the 
peaceful settlement of disputes among nations. 

The Postal Union. — Another important organ¬ 
ization is the Universal Postal Union, to which 
practically all nations in the world belong. Under 
the regulations made by this union the mails are 
transmitted between different countries. Other 


228 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


unions are the Sanitary Union, which protects 
nations against epidemics; the Agricultural Insti¬ 
tute, which develops the interests of agriculture; 
the Patent and Copyright Unions, by which the 
property of writers and inventors is preserved; 
and the Union of Weights and Measures, which 
keeps the standards of measures which are used 
the world over. Our nation is further bound to¬ 
gether with other nations of the American hemi¬ 
sphere in the Pan-American Union, which exists 
for the purpose of promoting the interests of all 
America. Its work is done in the beautiful Pan- 
American building in Washington. 

Every international union has a central office. 
Some of these are located in Switzerland, some 
in Belgium, some in other countries. This cen¬ 
tral bureau supplies all the governments with 
information about the matters with which it 
deals. It also helps the various governments to 
do their business with one another. 

QUESTIONS 

1. What are international unions ? Why necessary ? 
Name six. 

2. Describe the Hague Court; the League of 
Nations. 

3. What is the Postal Union? Why important? 


PART IY 


SOME AMERICAN IDEALS 































































- , .. . I 





















































































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CHAPTER XXXI 


HOSPITALITY TO ALL PEOPLE 

The city of New York has one of the most 
beautiful harbors in the world. If we were to 
enter it on one of the big ocean steamers, we 
should see to our left the hills of New Jersey and 
the high forts of Governor’s Island. To our right 
would stretch the level shore of Long Island, 
with its many towns, to which people- resort in 
the summer. Ahead would rise the tall, tower¬ 
like buildings of the city of New York, which is 
connected with Brooklyn by the wonderful sweep 
of the high Brooklyn Bridge, and as we enter the 
harbor, we see on a small island the Statue of 
Liberty, enlightening the world. This is a tall 
figure of a woman holding in her hand high above 
her head a torch, which at night sheds light over 
the entire harbor. This great statue was pre¬ 
sented to the people of the United States by our 
Sister Republic, France. It was placed here at 
the gateway of our country so that all who come 
231 


232 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


from other countries may realize that they are 
entering the land of freedom. 

Many thousand ships pass into this harbor every 
year. They carry in their holds great quantities 
of goods which our merchants have purchased in 
other countries. They bring lace and silks from 



Statue of Liberty, New York Harbor 


France, objects of art from Italy, clothing of 
various kinds and pottery from England, coffee 
from Brazil, rubber and gold from Africa. But 
they bring a more precious freight than all this. 
On these ships return to our shores the many 
thousands of our countrymen who have been trav¬ 
eling in foreign lands on business, to study, to 



HOSPITALITY TO ALL PEOPLE 


233 


learn the customs of other nations, or in the ser¬ 
vice of their country. With them come many 
thousands of people who have never been in this 
country before. From all parts of the world they 
come, anxious to make their home in our rich 
country and to share with us the blessings of 
freedom and good government. In one year a 
million immigrants came to our shores. Most 
of them come to New York, but other ports, 
like Boston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Charles¬ 
ton, New Orleans, San Francisco, and Seattle, 
are also doorways through which strangers enter 
our land. In former years, they used to come 
mostly from England, Ireland, and Germany, but 
at present we get more people from other coun¬ 
tries. The War has caused a great decrease in the 
amount of immigration from Europe to America. 

When these immigrants reach the harbor of New 
York, they are very happy that the long voyage is 
over. They may have had to travel many days by 
railway at home before they came to the port at 
which they took their ship. Then came the ocean 
voyage of ten days or two weeks, with nothing to 
look at but the sea and the sky. They had left 
home and dear ones behind. They came in order 
that they and their children might lead a happier 


234 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


and freer life in this country. In their old home, 
they may have had to work sixteen hours a day 
for wages too small to enable them to live in 
comfort. For years they saved every penny in 
order to be able to pay their passage to the new 



country, where men are free and equal. And now 
their hopes have at last been fulfilled and they 
have reached the end of their voyage. 

When they reach the port of New York, how¬ 
ever, they are not at once allowed to go on shore; 






HOSPITALITY TO ALL PEOPLE 


235 


they are not welcomed and taken care of by kind 
friends. All immigrants are taken to Ellis Island, 
where the officials of the government inspect 
them. Though we welcome to our shores the 
people of all nations, nevertheless, our laws do 
not admit those who cannot read or write in their 
native language, also criminals, paupers, the in¬ 
sane, or those having contagious diseases. If 
such people were admitted, they might prove a 
menace to public health and a source of great ex¬ 
pense for maintenance. Hence, these classes are 
excluded. All others, however, no matter how 
poor, who are able to look out for themselves and 
are willing to work, are gladly admitted. When 
they have been properly inspected, and have 
passed the so-called “ literacy test ”, they take 
their big bundles of baggage and are transferred 
by steamer or ferry to a railway station, whence 
they can begin their journey to the place where 
they desire to live. 

Thus, these people from other countries scatter 
all over our broad land, seeking to make them¬ 
selves new homes. Many settle in the large 
cities like New York, Philadelphia, or Chicago. 
There they enter factories, or work for the street 
car companies, or dig trenches in the streets for 


236 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


gas and water mains. Others find employ¬ 
ment with railway companies as section hands, or 
in building new railways, making embankments, 
and laying ties and tracks. Still others go to the 
mines of Pennsylvania and dig underground for 
coal, or they may go to the iron mines of Michigan, 
or the gold and silver mines of the West. Those 
who bring a little more money buy land for them¬ 
selves in the country, put buildings and stock 
on it, and. start a farm. These will have the 
most independent life; the others often have very 
hard work to do. In fact, the hardest work in our 
countiy is done mostly by new immigrants, and 
our great railways and mines would not have a 
sufficient force of laborers if new workmen were 
not all the time coming to us from other countries. 

But all these millions of people who come to us 
from foreign lands soon become Americans ; they 
learn our language and learn to love our govern¬ 
ment and institutions. If they work hard and 
are thrifty, they soon better their condition. They 
are able to have their own homes and to save a 
little money against sickness or old age. Their 
children go to school, and enjoy all the opportuni¬ 
ties our country offers. As they become bet¬ 
ter educated, their life becomes more enjoyable, 


HOSPITALITY TO ALL PEOPLE 


237 


and many among them acquire wealth and in¬ 
fluence. 

Our nation has always welcomed people from 
all the countries of the world—but especially from 
Europe, because the nations of Europe belong to 
the same race as ourselves. Our nation is thus 
composed of people of all the older nations, and 
all the good and noble qualities which they bring 
will enrich our national life. They represent an 
older civilization from which we have much to 
learn. They bring to our shores not only strength 
for manual labor, but often a degree of skill or 
knowledge that may prove greatly helpful. 

“The thought of the plain people here and every¬ 
where throughout the world, the people who enjoy no 
privileges and have very simple and unsophisticated 
standards of right and wrong, is the air all governments 
must henceforth breathe if they would live. It is in 
the full disclosing light of that thought that all policies 
must be conceived and executed in this midday hour 
of the world’s life. President Wilson. 


CHAPTER XXXII 


LIBERTY 

If we look at one of our silver coins, the new 
quarter-dollar or new half-dollar, we shall see on 
it the figure of a woman. She represents “ Lib¬ 
erty”, and this word is printed at the top of the 
coin. On her head she wears a curious cap, which 
is called the cap of liberty. This has the same 
form as the cap which in old Rome a master gave 
to a slave whom he set free. It was the sign of 
freedom, and it has remained so till this day, 
although happily there are no more slaves to be 
freed. We also often write the word “ Liberty ” 
on our banners and carve it in stone on our public 
buildings. All this shows what we think of it. 
When our forefathers had braved a harsh climate 
and repelled the savages, when they had made 
themselves homes in the American wilderness, 
when they had cleared the land around their 
villages and made the earth bear rich crops, when 
they had built towns and had made fleets of ships 
238 


LIBERTY 


239 


to sail on the sea, then they felt that they wanted 
liberty. They wanted to manage their own af¬ 
fairs and not to be subject to a government 
across the ocean. So they bravely fought and 
suffered great hardships until they had finally 
won that liberty which they wanted and which 
was their right. 

That is one form of liberty, for a people to be 
free and independent of control by an outside 
government, which they do not elect. At that 
time our nation was still small, having fewer 
people than the one state of Ohio has at present. 
But our forefathers knew that we could become 
a great and powerful nation, if our people were 
allowed to govern themselves. So they risked their 
lives and their all to secure so desirable an end. 

Liberty, however, means more than freedom 
from foreign rule. It is not enough that no outside 
government should be able to control us. Suppose 
some man should gather an army about himself 
and should make himself so powerful that he could 
force us to do what he pleased. Even if he were 
an American, we should not be free if we had to 
obey him. This is what Napoleon did in France. 
He was a lieutenant in the army, and when there 
was an uprising of the people in Paris, he com- 


240 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


manded his gunners to fire their cannon into the 
crowd. This act restored order, but it also gave 
Napoleon the start in his struggle for power. He 
finally got control of the army, and his will was law 
in France. He even made war on the neighboring 
nations and conquered some of them. He desired 
to be the ruler of the world. That purpose he did 
not attain. Govermnent by a Napoleon is not 
liberty. Liberty means that the nation is governed 
by the men whom it has freely elected. So our 
forefathers adopted the Constitution. In all the 
states, too, constitutions were made. These 
provide that the President and the governors and 
the legislatures shall be elected by the people. 
This is what we call political liberty. 

Some people think that if they live in a land of 
liberty they ought to be able to do exactly what 
they please, without being hindered by any one. 
Would it be liberty to take up street-car tracks or 
destroy railroad property or to use firearms in 
the main streets, or to drive an automobile so fast 
as to endanger life? No ; liberty does not mean 
that we can do anything we please unless that is 
right and does not harm others. If we are to live 
in peace and harmony with our fellow-citizens, 
we must respect their rights. Imagine for a min- 


LIBERTY 


241 


ute what would happen if every one did as he 
liked. The community would be at the mercy of 
the criminal classes. Not only would property be 
insecure, but life itself would be in danger. But 
that would not be liberty — it would be anarchy. 
If there were no restraint, there would be no 
liberty. So we have laws which protect us from 
violence, and force us to respect the rights of 
others. To obey such laws is not to sacrifice free¬ 
dom, because if people did not obey them, no one 
would be free. 

We do want to be free to do what we choose, as 
long as we do not injure any one else. We often 
hear people say, “ This is a free country.” That 
does not mean that we have no laws which every 
one must obey. It means that we have no unnec¬ 
essary laws. In some countries, people are not 
allowed to follow the business which they like. 
This is not liberty. In others, the police are al¬ 
ways watching people, opening their letters, 
and giving them orders. Neither is this liberty. 
Sometimes the government is careful to protect 
people against their own carelessness. In our 
country, we may walk on the railway tracks, or 
jump on a train when it is beginning to move, or 
ride a bicycle in crowded streets. We take the 


242 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


risk of injury ourselves. In some countries, these 
things are forbidden because they are dangerous. 

It is not difficult to do what the law demands. 
If we do not do things which injure others, we are 
free to go where we please and to follow our own 
wishes. We are truly free when we do what is 
right, because then we shall live happily and 
without fear. If we wrong others, or if we do 
that which is low and mean, we shall ourselves 
become low and mean, and our happiness will 
be at an end. So liberty, and good laws, and 
self-respeet, and respect for the rights of other 
people are all one. We are free if all do what 
is right. 


CHAPTER XXXIII 

EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY 

It is impossible that all men should have the 
same amount of money and property. We cannot 
have such equality and do not want it. If a man 
has worked harder, or has learned his business or 
trade better, or does more for his fellow-men than 
others do, he also deserves better payment. But 
the equality which we believe in is that every man 
should have an equal chance to do all that his 
ability will let him do. Now in some countries, 
a boy must .follow the trade of his father, even if 
he does not like it and can do something else 
better; or if he has no rich and powerful friends, 
a young man cannot get ahead in life, but must 
stay in the “ class v or division of people in which 
he is born. In our country, we do not ask who a 
young man’s grandfather is, but who he is himself. 
We do not ask who is backing the young man, 
but what he has learned and what he can do. It 
is because every man has the whole world and 
243 


244 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 



every chance open before him that our countiy 
is so prosperous. We must see to it that this shall 
never be changed, for this is true equality. 

The example of many great men who began life 
as poor boys shows that in our country the high¬ 
est honors may-come to a man, even if he has to 


Museum of Fine Arts, Boston 

start at the very bottom. Such honors, however, 
do not come to all. Not all of us, or most of us, 
attain to high honor as statesmen, or to great 
wealth, but we are all equal in that we have an 
equal chance to use our powers and abilities. We 
may also be equal in happiness, for wherever a 




EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY 245 

man does his duty, whether he is a farm hand, or a 
sailor, or a banker, he leads an honorable life. If 
he tries to get what is not due him, if he is untrue, 
cruel, or afraid of work, he will have no honor, no 
matter how rich he may be. So in our country, 
though we cannot all be President, we can all do 
the work for which we are best fitted, and we shall 
be judged by the way in which we do our duty. 
When we say that our country is the land of equal¬ 
ity, we mean this, that every man may make the 
most of his talents. The great opportunities that 
are open before all of us should inspire us to great 
effort. 

It is because we believe in equality that we think 
so much of our schools. Unless all boys and girls 
can have at least a common school education, 
they do not get a fair start in life. Of course, 
there have been men who have done great things 
without ever going to school, but they were strong 
enough to give themselves the education which 
their parents could not give them, they succeeded 
in spite of their lack of education. All the states 
have laws that compel parents to send their chil¬ 
dren to school for at least a certain part of the 
year. Every true American believes in good 
schools. 


CHAPTER XXXIV 


PATRIOTISM 

The love of country has at all times been a 
powerful motive among those races that have 
achieved most in the world. The love of the 
Athenian for his native city, the pride of the 
Roman in the great Empire of which he was a 
member, have been inherited and developed by the 
citizen of the modern state. We love our country 
because it is our own. It is the field within which 
the action of our lives takes place, and its popu¬ 
lation is made up not only of our friends and 
close acquaintances, but also of other people who 
stand for the ideas and customs which we our¬ 
selves cherish. Our nation is made one by its 
common memory of the great struggles which it 
has gone through and the triumphs which it has 
achieved. The history of our country is full of 
glorious deeds and great achievements. We love 
to dwell on the contest which the early settlers 
waged in the wilderness against the forces of 
246 


PATRIOTISM 


247 


nature and the hostility of the savages. We follow 
with interest the upbuilding of communities and 
states. The great struggle in which our country 
claimed and maintained its independence fills us 
with enthusiasm. We love to read the lives of 
the great leaders, from Winthrop and Washington 
down to the statesmen of the present time, who 
have guided the nation in times of peace and of 
war. 

Our nation has a common language and litera¬ 
ture. Although many other languages are spoken, 
the one language is understood by all. Our nation 
has its own ideals of political life, which have 
already been set forth in these pages. We believe 
that the government should rest on public opin¬ 
ion, and that the will of every citizen should enter 
into the life of the state. We believe in peace and 
justice in international relations. In social life, 
too, our ideals are those of a new, rich, and hope¬ 
ful country. We do not have classes of nobility 
or inherited privileges. It is our ideal that every 
man should rely upon his own character and 
abilities, and that he should be given a free chance 
with every one else to show what he can do. His 
success in life should depend upon the extent to 
which he has made himself useful to his fellow-men. 


248 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


All these things together make the ideal of 
American nationality. The belief in this ideal, 
and the desire to realize and maintain it, is true 
patriotism. We cannot be truly patriotic without 
knowing and understanding what our national 
life means and what our nation stands for. When 
we thoroughly understand these ideals and devote 
ourselves to them, we are patriots. Patriotism 
is not a thoughtless feeling. When we hang out 
our national flag in front of our home, or when we 
cheer the patriotic sentiments of a public speaker, 
we should know that it is not merely a flag or the 
outward excitement that makes patriotism, but 
the deep feeling of devotion and sacrifice which 
lies back of such outward expressions. 

One of the first things that occur to us when we 
speak of patriotism is the readiness to sacrifice 
our welfare and even our life when the needs of 
our country require. Bravery in war is the most 
striking expression of patriotism. We pay special 
honor to those who have shown great courage at 
times when their country was endangered by 
invasion or by war. History is full of shining ex¬ 
amples of men who have given up every thought 
of self and have laid down their lives cheerfully 
in order to save their country. A teacher will be 


PATRIOTISM 


249 


happy to tell the story of Leonidas, of Manlius, 
or of Winkelried. Our own history, too, has many 
examples of personal braveiy. We need only refer 
to John Paul Jones, Ethan Allen, and the steadfast 
courage of Washington. 

Patriotism is something positive and active, — 
a readiness to do something for our country.. It 
does not express itself in a narrow-minded hostility 
to foreign people. It is not patriotic to think that 
all foreigners are inferior and that their countries 
are less advanced than ours. We are only one of 
the great nations, though we want to be and re¬ 
main a great people. Our love for our own country 
should not express itself in enmity against others. 
A strong nation may well be friendly and just to 
other peoples, and protect the foreigners who have 
placed themselves under the care of its govern¬ 
ment. It would be a disgrace to our nation if 
foreigners were not protected as we ourselves 
expect to be when we find ourselves in foreign 
lands. 

Though braveiy in times of war excites our 
interest most, still a citizen has need of bravery 
also in the quiet years of peace. He must be brave 
to do his own thinking, brave to act according to 
his sense of justice. If he holds office, he must be 


250 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


brave enough to face reproach and enmity for the 
sake of doing right and to disoblige powerful 
friends who might desire to influence his action in 
their own interest. It may even be said that it 
requires a greater and more persistent courage to 
fulfill our duty to our state in times of peace than 
in times of war. The excitement of war carries 
the soldier, as it were, outside of himself. He 
is raised to a higher plane of courage and self- 
sacrifice. But in the ordinary times of peace, 
men have no such powerful incentive for devotion 
to the welfare of their country. They are sur¬ 
rounded by men who are striving for their own 
interest. Each one, therefore, must constantly 
set before him the great things which our country 
stands for, and which our government must ac¬ 
complish for the people if our nation is to prosper 
in the future. 

To make our country safe and respected, a good 
home for ourselves and those that come after us, 
should be the desire of every patriotic citizen. A 
special duty is laid upon political leaders in our 
country. Here the people have a part in govern¬ 
ment. We aim at making the state the expression 
of the common life. It is not to exist for a favored 
few or for men in power and office-holders. 


PATRIOTISM 


251 


Government is merely a service to the people of the 
nation. Ours is an experiment in popular govern¬ 
ment, which is being watched by all other nations. 
In order that it may succeed, we should all of 
us understand the nature of the high objects our 
nation is striving for. Every day of our lives 
we should assist in attaining these objects, even 
if we have to sacrifice time and money and oppor¬ 
tunities. We should not begrudge our service, 
but should think it an honor and a privilege to 
assist in so great a work. 

Cherishing for ourselves these rights of popular 
government and a chance to every man to suc¬ 
ceed if he strives honestly and fairly, and with a 
determination not to allow our rights on the high 
seas to be endangered and not to stand helplessly 
by while the dominant power of a military govern¬ 
ment, the very opposite of our free institutions, 
threatened to overwhelm the civilized world and 
take away the freedom of the common citizen, 
in a word, to defend the rights of democracy 
and humanity against the selfish power of autoc¬ 
racy and the iron fist, the United States of 
America joined the other democratic peoples of 
the world in the Great War. President Wilson 
said: 


252 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


“ A steadfast concert for peace can never be main¬ 
tained except by a partnership of democratic nations. 
No autocratic government could be trusted to keep faith 
within it or observe its covenants. It must be a league 
of honor, a partnership of opinion. Intrigue would eat 
its vitals away; the plottings of inner circles who could 
plan what they would and render account to no one 
would be a corruption seated at its very heart. Only 
free peoples can hold their purpose and their honor 
steady to a common end and prefer the interest of 
mankind to any narrow interest of their own. 

“But the right is more precious than peace, and 
we shall fight for the things which we have always 
carried nearest our hearts — for democracy, for the 
right of those who submit to authority to have a voice 
in their own governments, for the rights and liberties 
of small nations, for a universal dominion of right by 
such a concert of free peoples as shall bring peace and 
safety to all nations and make the world itself at last 
free.” 


PART y 


THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 

ANALYSIS OF THE CONSTITUTION OF 
THE UNITED STATES 


























































r 





































/ 





































CHAPTER XXXV 


THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, ADOPTED 
BY CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776. 

A DECLARATION BY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED 
STATES OF AMERICA, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED. 

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary 
for one people to dissolve the political bands which have con¬ 
nected them with another, and to assume among the powers of 
the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of 
nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to 
the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare 
the causes which impel them to the separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are 
created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with 
certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, 
and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, 
governments are instituted among men, deriving their just 
powers from the consent of the governed; that, whenever any 
form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the 
right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new 
government, laying its foundation on such principles, and or¬ 
ganizing its pow r ers in such form, as to them shall seem most 
likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, 
will dictate that governments long established should not be 
changed for light and transient causes; and, accordingly, all 
experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to 
suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by 
abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when 

255 


256 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the 
same object, evinces a design to reduce them undfcr absolute 
despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such a 
government, and to provide new guards for their future security. 
Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and 
such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their 
former systems of government. The history of the present 
king of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and 
usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an 
absolute tyranny over these States. To prove this, let facts be 
submitted to a candid world : — 

He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome, and 
necessary for the public good. 

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate 
and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operations, 
till his assent should be obtained; and, when so suspended, he 
has utterly neglected to attend to them. 

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of 
large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the 
right of representation in the legislature; a right inestimable 
to them, and formidable to tyrants only. 

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, 
uncomfortable, and distant from the repository of their public 
records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance 
with his measures. 

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly for oppos¬ 
ing, with manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the 
people. 

He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to 
cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, in¬ 
capable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large, 
for their exercise; the State remaining, in the mean time, ex¬ 
posed to all the dangers of invasions from without, and convul¬ 
sions within. 

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States; 
for that purpose, obstructing the laws for the naturalization of 


THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 257 


foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration 
hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of 
lands. 

He has obstructed the administration of justice by refusing 
his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. 

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the ten¬ 
ure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their 
salaries. 

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither 
swarms of officers, to harass our people, and eat out their sub¬ 
stance. 

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, 
without the consent of our legislature. 

He has affected to render the military independent of, and 
superior to, the civil power. 

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction 
foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; 
giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation : — 

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us; 

For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for 
any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of 
these States; 

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world; 

For imposing taxes on us without our consent; 

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by 
jury; 

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended 
offences; 

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neigh¬ 
boring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, 
and enlarging its boundaries, so as to render it at once an 
example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute 
rule into these Colonies; 

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable 
laws, and altering, fundamentally, the powers of our govern¬ 
ment; 


258 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring them¬ 
selves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases what¬ 
soever. 

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of 
his protection, and waging war against us. 

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our 
towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. 

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mer¬ 
cenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, 
already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy 
scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally 
unworthy the head of a civilized nation. 

He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the 
high seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the exe¬ 
cutioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by 
their hands. 

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has 
endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the 
merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an 
undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions. 

In every stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned for 
redress in the most humble terms; our repeated petitions have 
been answered only by repeated injury. A prince whose char¬ 
acter is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant is 
unfit to be the ruler of a free people. 

Nor have we been wanting in attentions to our British 
brethren. We have warned them, from time to time, of at¬ 
tempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable juris¬ 
diction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances 
of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to 
their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured 
them, by the ties of our common kindred, to disavow these usur¬ 
pations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and 
correspondence. They, too, have been deaf to the voice of 
justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in 
the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, 


THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE 259 


as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war; in peace, 
friends. 

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States 
of America, in general congress assembled, appealing to r the 
Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, 
do, in the name and by the authority of the good people of 
these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United 
Colonies are, and of right ought to be, Free and Independent 
States; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British 
Crown, and that all political connection between them and the 
State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved; 
and that, as Free and Independent States, they have full power' 
to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish com¬ 
merce, and do all other acts and things which Independent 
States may of right do. And for the support of this Declara¬ 
tion, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Provi¬ 
dence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, 
and our sacred honor. 

John Hancock. 

New Hampshire. — Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, 
Matthew Thornton. 

Massachusetts Bay. — Samuel Adams, John Adams, 
Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry. 

Rhode Island, etc. — Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery. 

Connecticut. — Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, 
William Williams, Oliver Wolcott. 

New York. — William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis 
Lewis, Lewis Morris. 

New Jersey. — Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, 
Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark. 

Pennsylvania. — Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Ben¬ 
jamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, 
George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross. 

Delaware. — Csesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas 
M’Kean. 


260 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


Maryland. — Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, 
Charles Carroll of Carrollton. 

Virginia. — George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas 
Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis 
Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton. 

North Carolina. — William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John 
Penn. 

South Carolina. — Edward Rutledge, Thomas Hayward, 
Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton. 

Georgia. — Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton. 


ANALYSIS OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE 
UNITED STATES 

(In this brief analysis there are indicated merely 
the most important of the provisions of the Constitu¬ 
tion, with which every person ought to be familiar.) 


I. ORGANIZATION OF THE GOVERNMENT 

1. The Legislative Department. The House of 
Representatives. — Members chosen every two years 
by such electors in the states as have the right to vote 
for members of the most numerous house of the state 
legislature. Representatives must be twenty-five 
years of age, and must have been citizens for seven 
years. They are apportioned among the states 
according to population. 

The Senate. — There are two senators from each 
state, elected for six years by the state electorate. 
One third of the members of the Senate are elected 


ORGANIZATION OF THE GOVERNMENT 261 

every two years. Senators must be thirty years of 
age, and must have been citizens for nine years. 

Each house is the judge of the election and qualifi¬ 
cations of its own members. A majority constitutes 
a quorum to do business. Each house determines the 
rules of its proceedings, and keeps a journal. At the 
desire of one fifth of the members present, the yeas 
and nays on any question shall be entered on the 
journal. 

2. The Executive Department. — The President 
of the United States is elected by electors chosen by 
the voters in the states. Each state is entitled to as 
many electors as it has senators and representatives 
in Congress. . The President must be a native-born 
citizen of the United States over thirty-five years of 
age. The Vice-President is elected in a similar manner. 

3. The Judiciary Department. — The Constitu¬ 
tion provides for one Supreme Court. Inferior courts 
may from time to time be established by Congress. 
The judges shall hold office during good behavior. 
They are appointed by the President with the consent 
of the Senate. 

II. THE POWERS OF THE FEDERAL 
GOVERNMENT 

1. The Powers of Congress. — Congress may: — 

Lay and collect taxes; 

Borrow money; 

Regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among 
the states; 


262 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


Establish uniform laws on naturalization and on 
bankruptcy; 

Coin money; 

Establish postoffices and post roads; 

Grant patents and copyrights; 

Define and punish offenses against international 
law; 

Declare war; 

Raise and support an army and a navy, and make 
rules for the land and naval forces; 

Provide for calling forth the militia to execute the 
laws, and for the organization of the militia; 

Exercise exclusive legislative power over the federal 
district (of Columbia) and other land and property 
of the United States; 

Make all laws which shall be necessary and proper 
for carrying into execution these powers. 

Congress may also admit new states into the Union, 
and 

May make all needful rules and regulations respect¬ 
ing the territories or other property belonging to the 
United States. 

All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the 
House of Representatives, but the Senate may pro¬ 
pose amendments. 

The House of Representatives further has the 
power to impeach or accuse any high official. The 
Senate shall try such impeachments. When the Presi¬ 
dent of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice 
shall preside. The Senate further has the power to 


POWERS OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 263 


give or withhold its consent to all treaties and to many 
of the appointments made by the President. 

2. The Executive. — The President is commander- 
in-chief of the army and navy. 

Pie may require the opinion of the principal officer 
in each of the executive departments. (These officers 
form the President’s cabinet.) 

He may grant pardons for offenses against the 
United States. 

He shall from time to time give the Congress infor¬ 
mation on the state of the Union (in his messages), 
and recommend measures of legislation. 

He has the right to convene the houses of Congress 
in executive session. 

He receives ambassadors and other foreign ministers. 

He shall take care that the laws are faithfully 
executed. 

By and with the consent of the Senate, the Presi¬ 
dent makes treaties with foreign nations and appoints 
the higher.public officials in the federal service. 

3. The Federal Courts. — The judicial power of 
the United States extends over the following matters: 

All cases arising under the Constitution, the laws 
of the United States, and treaties; 

Cases affecting ambassadors and other public minis¬ 
ters and consuls; 

Cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; 

Controversies between two or more states, between 
a state and citizens of another state, and between 
citizens of different states; 


264 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


Cases in which foreigners are a party. 

By the Eleventh Amendment, it is provided that 
the judicial power of the United States shall not ex¬ 
tend to a suit prosecuted against a state by a citizen 
of another state or by a foreigner. 

In all criminal trials there shall be a jury, and the 
trials shall be held in the state where the crime has 
been committed. 

III. POWERS WHICH ARE DENIED TO THE 
UNITED STATES 

The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not 
be suspended, except in cases of rebellion or invasion. 

No law shall be passed to punish a person for an 
action which was not a crime at the time when it was 
committed. Such a law would be called an ex post 
facto law. 

Head taxes or other direct taxes, except income tax, 
shall not be laid unless in proportion to the population. 

There shall be no tax on articles exported from any 
state. 

No preference shall be given to the ports of one 
state over those of another, in the matter of commercial 
regulations. 

No money shall be drawn from the treasury but in 
consequence of appropriations granted by law. 

No title of nobility shall be granted. 

The powers of the federal government are also 
limited by the Bill of Rights in the amendments, which 
see below. 


POWERS OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 265 


IV. POWERS WHICH ARE DENIED TO THE 
STATES 

States shall not enter into any treaty, alliance, or 
confederation. 

They shall not coin money or issue bills of credit. 

They shall not make anything but gold and silver 
coin legal tender for the payment of debts. 

They shall not pass any ex post facto law or any law 
by which the obligation of existing contracts is im¬ 
paired. 

They shall not grant any title of nobility. 

States shall not keep troops or ships of war in time 
of peace. 

They shall not lay any duty on the tonnage of 
vessels. 

The United States guarantees to every state in the 
Union a republican form of government. A state 
could not, therefore, under the Constitution, set up a 
monarchical government. 

The United States also shall protect the states 
against domestic violence, on application of the legis¬ 
lature or of the executive of the state when the legisla¬ 
ture is not in session. 

V. POWER OF AMENDMENT 

The Constitution of the United States may be 
amended in the following manner : — 

Amendments shall be proposed in either of the 
following ways: First, two thirds of both houses of 


266 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


Congress may propose amendments; second, on the 
application of the legislatures of two thirds of the 
states, a national convention for proposing amend¬ 
ments shall be called. 

The amendments shall be ratified or adopted in 
either of the following ways : First, by the legislatures 
of three fourths of the several states; second, by con¬ 
ventions in three fourths of the states. Congress may 
determine which mode of ratification shall be used. 

It is specially -provided that no state shall, without 
its consent, be deprived of its equal representation in 
the Senate. 


. VI. THE BILL OF RIGHTS 

(Contained in the amendments to the Constitution.) 

Amendments. — I. Congress shall make no law es¬ 
tablishing a religion, or prohibiting the free exercise 
thereof; it shall not abridge the freedom of speech or 
of the press, or of the right of the people peaceably to 
assemble and to petition the government. 

II. The right of the people to keep and bear arms 
shall not be infringed. 

III. No soldier shall in time of peace be quartered 
in any house without the consent of the owner, nor in 
time of war except under law. 

IV. The homes of the'people shall not be searched, 
except upon warrants sworn to and describing par¬ 
ticularly the place to be searched and the person or 
things to be seized. 


THE BILL OF RIGHTS 


267 


V. In the trial of persons for crime due process of 
law shall be observed. 

No person shall twice be tried for the same offense. 

No person shall be compelled in a criminal case to be 
a witness against himself. 

Private property shall not be taken for public use 
without just compensation. 

The rights of a criminal to an impartial trial are 
further protected by Article VI. 

VII. In suits at common law (civil cases) where 
the amount involved shall exceed $20, the right of 
trial by jury shall be preserved. 

VIII. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor 
excessive fines be imposed, nor cruel and unusual 
punishments inflicted. 

X. The powers not delegated to the United States 
by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, 
are reserved to the states respectively, or to the 
people. 

XIII. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude 
shall exist except as a punishment for crime. 

XIV. No state shall make or enforce a law which 
shall abridge the rights or immunities of citizens of 
the United States, nor shall it deny to any person within 
its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. 

XV. The right of the citizens of the United States 
to vote shall not be denied on account of race, color, 
or previous condition of servitude. 

XVI. Congress shall have power to lay and collect 
taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, with- 


268 


CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


out apportionment among the several states, and 
without regard to any census enumeration. 

XVII. The Senate of the United States shall be 
composed of two senators from each state elected by 
the people thereof for six years; and each senator shall 
have one vote. In order to vote for a senator, a voter 
must be qualified to vote for members of the most 
numerous branch of the state legislature. 

XVIII. The manufacture, sale, or transportation of 
intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes is prohibited, 
as is also the importation or exportation. 


INDEX 


Agriculture, 106-107. 
Ambassadors, 122. 

American ideals, 229. 

Arlington, 197-199. 

Army and navy, 126-135. 

Army service, 30-32. 

Arrest of criminals, 41-42. 

unjust, 50-51. 

Asylums, 73. 

Attorney-General, 212. 

Bail, 44. 

Ballot, the, 17. 

Australian, 17-18. 
by machine, 20. 
voting by, 17. 

Bill of Rights, 266-268. 

Bills, 219-220. 

Cabinet, the, 210-215. 
Campaigns, 21-23. 

Candidates, 13-15. 

Capital, the national, 194. 
Capitol, the United States, 194- 
195. 

Castles, 37-38. 

Change of venue, 46. 

Charities, public, 71-76. 

other, 75-76. 

Cities, 38-40, 168-178. 

American, 171-172. 
beautified, 173-175. 
charter, 175-176. 
cosmopolitan, 172-173. 
council, 176-177. 

Italian, 170-171. 


mayor of, 176. 
public works in, 86-89. 
what they are, 168-170. 

Citizens, army service, 30-32. 
duties of, 27-33. 
jury service, 28-30. 
office holding, 27-28. 
payment of taxes, 32. 
protection of, 53-59. 

Civil Service, 214-215. 

Coin. See Money. 

Commerce, 152. 

Commissions, 88-89. 

Congress, the, 217-220. 

powers and duties, 151-152, 
261-263. 

Congressmen, 218. 

Constitution, the, 260-268. 

Consuls, 123. 

Conventions, 14-15. 

County, the, 180-182. 
what it is, 180. 

County government, 180-181. 

County officers, 181-182. 

Courts, federal, 222-225. 

State, 192-193. 

Supreme, 29, 223. 

Criminals, 40-51. 
arrest of, 41-42. 
defense of, 45-46. 
extradition of, 42. 
protection against, 40-41. 
punishment of, 49-50. 
trial of, 44-45. 
unjust arrest, 50-51. 


269 




270 


INDEX 


Debt, imprisonment for, 59. 
Declaration of Independence, 
255-260. 

Defendant, 57. 

Democracy, 8. 

direct, 9. 

Diplomats, 122. 

Direct primaries, 15. 

Education, 61-70. 

Elections, 17-25. 

Equality of opportunity, 243-245. 
Evidence, of guilt, 47-48. 

circumstantial, 48. 

Extradition, 42. 

Fees, 138. 

Feudal castle, a, 37-38. 

Feudal times, 37-40. 

Foreign Affairs, 119-125. 
consuls, 123. 
diplomats, 122. 

our relations to other nations, 
119. 

passports, 121-122. 
promotion of commerce, 119- 
121 . 

the State Department, 123-125. 
treaties, 125. 

Forests, 97-104. 

destruction of, 98-99. 
national parks, 103-104. 
reserves, 99-101. 

State reservations, 102. 
value of, 97. 

Franchises, public, 87-88. 

Government, the, 3-59. 

Executive Department, 261. 
in early times, 3-4. 
in modern times, 4-5. 

Judiciary Department, 261. 
Legislative Department, 260- 
261. 

national, 194-199. 


organization of, 260-261. 
powers of federal, 261-264. 
representative, 9-10. 
the citizen’s part in, 8-12. 
the real, 5-7. 
what it does, 35. 

Governor, the, 187-188. 

Habeas corpus , 50-51. 

Hague Court, the, 226-227. 

Health, 53-55. 

Highways, 77-84. 

Homestead Act, 106. 

Hospitality, 231-237. 

Hospitals, 73-75. 

House of Representatives, 218, 
260. 

International unions, 226-228. 

Inventions, 69-70. 

Irrigation, 101-102. 

Jury, the, 46-47. 

Jury service, 28-30. 

Lands, public. See Forests. 

Law, action at, to be avoided, 
57-59. 

majesty of, 29. 

Laws, civil and criminal, 150. 
how made, 153-156. 
making of, 149. 
pure food, 152. 

Legislation, 149-158. 

Legislatures. See State. 

Liberty, 238-242. 

Libraries, public, 66-69. 

Life-saving service, 93-95. 

Lighthouses, 92-93. 

Mails, 113-118. 
classes of, 116-117. 
postmasters, 113-115. 
railway service, 115-116. 
transmission of, 113. 



INDEX 


271 


Maintaining order, 37-51. 

Mayor. See Cities. 

Militia, 130. 

Mint, the United States, 109-111. 

Money, 109-112. 

a substitute for coin, 111-112. 
medium of exchange, 109. 
national unit, 109. 

Money orders, 117-118. 

Mount Vernon, 199. 

National capital, 194. 

National Government. See Gov¬ 
ernment. 

National parks, 103-104. 

Natural resources, 90. 

Naval Academy, 132-133. 

Navy, 130-132. 

Nominations, 13—15. 

Officials, oversight of, 24-25. 

Order, maintaining, 37-51. 

Parks, 82-84,103. 

Patriotism, 246-252. 

Personal rights, 55-56. 

Plaintiff, 57. 

Playgrounds, 82-84. 

Political campaigns, 21-23. 

Political parties, 13. 

Postal Union, 227-228. 

Postmaster-General, 212-213. 

Postmasters, 113-115. 

President, the, 201-209, 263. 
appointing officers, 206-207. 
daily work, 201-204. 
election of, 204-205. 
importance of office, 201. 
inauguration of, 205-206. 
making treaties, 207. 
messages, 207-208. 
power of, 206. 
salary of, 28. 
succession, 209. 
veto power, 208. 


Primaries, 14-15. 
direct, 15. 

Property, protection of, 53. 
Protection, 37-59. 
against criminals, 40-41. 
in feudal times, 37-40. 
of health, 53-55. 
of the citizens,. 53-59. 

Public lands, 106-107. 

Public works, 86-89. 

Quarantine, 54. 

Rights, personal, 55-56. 

our neighbors’, 56-57. 

Roads, 77-80. 
country, 80-81. 

Schools, advanced, 64-66. 
common, 63—64. 

Secretaries, Attorney-General, 

212 . 

of Agriculture, 213. 
of Commerce, 214. 
of Labor, 214. 
of State, 210-211. 
of the Interior, 213. 
of the Navy, 213. 
of the Treasury, 211. 
of War, 211-212. 
Postmaster-General, 212-213. 
Selectmen, 9. 

Senate, the, 217-218. 

Smuggling, 139-140. 

Speaker, the, 218-219. 

State, the, 183-193. 

Constitution of, 185-186. 

equality of, 185. 

the governor of, 187-188. 

State commissions, 189-190. 

State courts, 192-193. 

State department, the, 123-125. 
State government, importance of, 
183-184. 

State insignia, 184-185. 

State legislatures, 190-192. 





272 


INDEX 


State officers, 188-189. 

State reservations, 102. 

States, powers denied to, 265. 
Streets, 81-82. 

Taxation, 137-147. 

assessment of, 146-147. 
city taxes, 145-146. 
direct, 142-143. 
forms of, 140-141. 
for purposes of government, 
137. 

indirect, 138-139. 
oppressive, 137-138. 

Taxes, payment of, 32. 

Tickets, split, 18-20. 

Torts, 55. 

Town and village, 163-167. 
Town-meeting, 8, 163-165. 
Township government, 165-166. 
Transportation, 91-92. 

Treaties, 125. 


United States in the World War, 
133-135. 

United States, powers denied to, 
264. 

United States Treasury, 143. 
Utilities, public, 88. 

Veto power, the governor’s, 156. 
Vice-President, 219. 

Village, government, 166-167. 

See Town and village. 
Voting, 17-24. 

Australian, 17-18, 19. 
changes in constitution, 23-24. 
intelligent, 10-11. 
process of, 20-21. 

Voting machines, 20. 

Wealth, development of public, 
90-95. 

White House, the, 196-197. 


































































" 



























Part of Campus, University of Washington 














SUPPLEMENT TO REINSCH’S 
CIVIL GOVERNMENT 


FOR THE 

STATE OF WASHINGTON 


BY 

EDWARD McMAllON 

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR IN AMERICAN HISTORY 
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON 


BENJ. H. SANBORN & CO. 


CHICAGO 


NEW YORK 
1920 


BOSTON 



Copyright, 1920, 

By BENJ. H. SANBORN & CO. 


©CI.A5S54S6 

lU )■ 


CONTENTS 


\ 


HISTORY OF WASHINGTON 

CHAPTER 

I. The Oregon Country ...... 

II. Struggle for Control . 

III. Early Settlements ....... 

IV. Organized Government ...... 

GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 

V. Some Advantages of Western States . 

VI. Citizenship in Washington . 

VII. The General Election. 

VIII. Municipal Government ...... 

IX. Cities of the First Class. 

X. Counties and Townships. 

XI. State Government. 

XH. Common Schools . . . . 

XIII. Higher Schools. 

XIV. Comparative Government. 

APPENDIX 

A . Area and Population of the Counties of Wash¬ 

ington . ..•••••• 

B . Congressional Districts in Washington 

C . Senatorial and Representative Districts . 

I ). Appointive Officers 

E . Votes For and Against Initiative and Refer- 

Measures, 1914. 

> iii 


PAGE 

1 

6 

10 

14 


23 

26 

32 

38 

43 

54 

61 

77 

86 

93 


119 

121 

121 

123 

125 


ENDUM 








HISTORY OF WASHINGTON 


CHAPTER I 

THE OREGON COUNTRY 

The Oregon Country. — The name Oregon was 
first used by Jonathan Carver, a traveler among 
the Indians of Minnesota, to designate the great 
river of the West. Carver knew nothing about 
this river except what he had learned from the 
Indians. Where he got the name we do not 
know; but its use in connection with the river 
did not become general, even after the publica¬ 
tion of Carver’s book. Captain Gray had not 
heard of it when he named the river Columbia; 
nor is the name Oregon found in the journals of 
Lewis and Clark, although they were written a 
quarter of a century after Carver first used it. 
As time went on, however, the name was ap¬ 
plied to the lands lying west of the Rocky Moun¬ 
tains and north of California. This territory 
became known as the Oregon Country. 

l 


2 


HISTORY OF WASHINGTON 


Period of Discovery. — The first European 
explorer to reach the coast of the Oregon Country 
was probably the Spanish navigator, Bartolome 
Ferrelo (1543). In 1579, it is claimed, the Eng¬ 
lish sea-rover, Sir Francis Drake, reached the 
Oregon coast. In 1728, and again in 1841, Vitus 
Bering led expeditions in the interest of Russia, 
and made discoveries in the North Pacific that 
now bear his name. Three nations laid claim 
to the Oregon Country by right of discovery, 
— Spain, England, and Russia. Further ex¬ 
plorations led to the development of valuable 
trade, especially in furs, and to have a share in 
this trade a Boston firm sent out a ship, the 
Columbia, under command of Captain Gray. 
Gray made his first voyage to the Pacific Coast 
in 1790, and sailed from there with a cargo of 
furs to Canton, China. He sold the furs, and 
with a cargo of tea returned to Boston, being 
the first man to carry the American flag around 
the globe. He returned to the Pacific Coast in 
1791, and in the following year explored the 
coast for trade. He discovered Gray's Harbor 
and the river which bears the name of his ship, 
Columbia. Gray ascended the river about twenty- 
five miles, and due to this exploration gave to 


THE OREGON COUNTRY 


3 


the United States a claim to the whole territory 
drained by the river and its tributaries. 

Lewis and Clark. — The exploration of the 
country lying between the upper Mississippi 
River and the Pacific Ocean enlisted the interest 
of Thomas Jefferson as early as 1783. When 
he became President of the United States he 
persuaded Congress to appropriate money to 
send out an expedition for such exploration. 
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were selected 
to lead the party. A company of men were 
gathered and wintered near the confluence of 
the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and in 1804 
they ascended the Missouri River to the Mandan 
Indian village, near the present location of Bis¬ 
marck, North Dakota. Hero they built huts 
to make themselves comfortable during the long 
hard winter before them. In the following spring, 
guided by Sacajawea, the “ Bird Woman,” they 
crossed the watershed and followed dowm the 
streams on the western slope until they found the 
mighty river which Captain Gray had discovered. 
Descending to its mouth they built a little stock¬ 
aded home which they called Fort Clatsop. Here 
they wintered, — four thousand miles from St. 
Louis, their starting point. Their return journey 


4 


HISTORY OF WASHINGTON 


began March 23, 1806, and on September 23 they 
pulled up their boats at St. Louis. Their journals 
tell of their progress, day by day, of the rivers 
discovered and named, of their careful observa¬ 
tions of the country and natives. The journey 
was beset by many hardships and dangers. There 
was much suffering from hunger and fatigue, but 
the entire trip was made with the loss of a single 
man. No better evidence of the skill and leader¬ 
ship of Lewis and Clark could be asked. 

Founding of Astoria. — Successful fur trading 
had made John Jacob Astor wealthy, and, when 
he learned about the Lewis and Clark explora¬ 
tions, he decided to extend his operations beyond 
the region of the Great Lakes and reach out to 
the Pacific. A company was organized to control 
the trade, with Astoria as its headquarters and 
shipping point. There were also a number of 
interior posts, — one at the mouth of the Okano¬ 
gan River and one on the Spokane River. These 
posts did well, but there was dissatisfaction and 
mismanagement on the part of the partners. 
After war broke out between England and the 
United States, the partners at Astoria sold out 
to the rival British Company and some of them 
went to work for the new owner. When the 


THE OREGON COUNTRY 


5 


British sloop-of-war Racoon arrived at Astoria 
to capture the settlement, it was already in the 
hands of the British. The American flag was 
supplanted by the British flag, and Astoria was 
called Fort George. When the war was ended, 
the treaty provided for the restoration of places 
taken by either party. Astoria was therefore 
restored to the United States, but as there were 
no Americans there to take possession, the British 
remained at Fort George, increasing and strength¬ 
ening their hold on the fur trade. 

Questions 

1. What is known of the origin of the name Oregon? 

2. Trace the boundaries of the Oregon Country on 
the map. 

3. What nations established claims to Oregon by 
right of discovery? 

4. Why was Jefferson interested in the exploration 
of Oregon? 

5. Trace the route of Lewis and Clark on a map. 

6. What additional claim to Oregon did the Lewis 
and Clark expedition give to the United States? 

7. Tell the story of the founding of Astoria. 


CHAPTER II 


STRUGGLE FOR CONTROL 

Claims to the Oregon Country. — Four im¬ 
portant nations were engaged in the struggle for 
the Oregon Country, each directing its energies 
to outdo the others. Russia and Spain claimed 
the region by virtue of discoveries and because 
of adjacent possessions, — the one in Alaska, 
the other in California. The most vigorous 
competition, however, was that between Great 
Britain and the United States. Both had strong 
claims. Great Britain, in addition to the more 
or less shadowy claim based on Drake’s dis¬ 
coveries, had more solid claims resulting from 
the explorations of Cook (1778), Vancouver 
(1792), the overland expeditions of Alexander 
Mackenzie (1789, 1793), and of Frazer (1805- 
1808), who explored the Frazer River and planted 
forts in the interest of the British fur companies. 
The American claims were based upon the dis¬ 
coveries of Gray, the explorations of Lewis and 
Clark, and the establishment of Astoria. 


STRUGGLE FOR CONTROL 


7 


The Oregon Country, in 1818, became the sub¬ 
ject of treaty regulation between England and 
the United States. The treaty was made for 
the purpose of settling fishery disputes and de¬ 
ciding the northern boundaiy of the United 
States. The United States was willing at the 
time to extend the line through the Oregon Coun¬ 
try along the foily-ninth parallel from the Lake 
of the Woods to the Pacific; but Great Britain 
refused, claiming that the Columbia River should 
be the boundary. 

Joint Occupancy. — A compromise was ac¬ 
cepted which left the territory and its waters 
west of the mountains free and open for a period 
of ten years to the vessels, citizens, and subjects 
of the two powers. This treaty is called in the 
northwest the Treaty of Joint Occupancy. When 
the treaty expired the United States again urged 
division on the forty-ninth parallel, and again 
Great Britain claimed the territory to the Colum¬ 
bia. The outcome was the renewal of Joint 
Occupancy indefinitely, with the proviso that 
either country could terminate the treaty by 
giving one year's notice. Statesmen were be¬ 
ginning to see the importance of retaining a foot¬ 
hold on the Pacific Coast with its outlook toward 


8 


HISTORY OF WASHINGTON 


the Orient; but American missionaries, traders, 
pioneers, and farmers had not as yet come to 
Oregon. In the meantime important events had 
taken place. When the United States purchased 
Florida from Spain in 1819, Spain gave up what¬ 
ever claims she had to the Oregon coast. Russia 
in 1821 declared that her claims to territory ex¬ 
tended down to the fifty-first degree north lati¬ 
tude and forbade foreign vessels in her territorial 
waters. The disturbed situation in Europe, and 
the rapidly revolting South American Provinces, 
gave President Monroe the opportunity to issue 
that part of his message which has since been 
known as the Monroe doctrine. He declared 
that the American continents “ are henceforth 
not to be considered as subjects for future coloni¬ 
zation by any European powers.” Two treaties 
resulted, one between Russia and the United 
States, and another between Russia and England, 
in which Russia’s territory was limited on the 
south by the parallel 54° 40'. From that time 
the Oregon Country embraced the lands lying 
west of the Rocky Mountains between the parallels 
54° 40' and 42°. Thus were two of the earlier 
claimants eliminated, but Great Britain and the 
United States continued the struggle. 


STRUGGLE FOR CONTROL 


9 


Questions 

1. Why was there difficulty in locating the boundary 
between the British and American claims in Oregon? 

2. What was the situation under the treaty of joint 
occupancy? 

3. How did we acquire the claims of the Spanish 
to the Oregon coast? 

4. How was Russia kept out ? 


CHAPTER III 


EARLY SETTLEMENTS 

Fur Traders and Settlers. — The old Hudson 

Bay Company, chartered by Charles II of Eng¬ 
land in 1670, one of the greatest monopolies in 
the world, had no posts west of the Rocky Moun¬ 
tains before 1821. All the British posts in this 
region had been established by the Northwest 
Company, but in 1821 this company was ab¬ 
sorbed by the older company. In 1824 the 
company sent to the Columbia River a vigorous 
and capable man, Doctor John McLoughlin, who 
was known among the Indians as the “ White- 
Headed Eagle,” and who became a veritable 
king in that region. McLoughlin was an affec¬ 
tionate and kindly man; but he ruled the region 
with an iron hand. He strengthened the old 
posts and established new ones where they were 
needed. He moved his headquarters to Fort 
Vancouver where a sawmill and gristmill were 
built; and agriculture was encouraged to such 
an extent that at the end of ten years thousands 
10 


EARLY SETTLEMENTS 


11 


of bushels of grain were produced, and an oc¬ 
casional shipment of flour and grain was made 
to distant settlements. Hundreds of cattle, 
horses, sheep, and hogs were raised. Other cattle 
and farming settlements were started at Cowlitz 
Prairie and Nisqually. It was the policy of the 
Hudson Bay Company to hold the territory as 
a vast game preserve, but McLoughlin extended 
a hearty welcome to all settlers south of the 
Columbia River. 

In 1834 American settlement was given a 
stimulus by the arrival in Oregon of a band of 
missionaries under the leadership of Jason and 
Daniel Lee, and a settlement was made in the 
Willamette Valley. 

Missions. — In the next few years additional 
groups came, and missions were established at 
the Dalles, Clatsop, Lapwai, and Waiilatpu. It 
was at the latter place that Dr. Whitman and 
thirteen other persons were cruelly murdered by 
the Indians, and about forty women and children 
were carried away as captives. Three of the 
children died for want of care. The other cap¬ 
tives were bought and set free by the Hudson 
Bay Company’s agent, who hurried to the Indian 
camps with a quantity of goods which he offered 


12 


HISTORY OF WASHINGTON 


in exchange. In spite of the rivalry between 
the British and Americans for control of the 
territory, there was a great deal of human kind¬ 
ness and charity. The missions mentioned above 
were all Protestant Missions, but as early as 
1838 there were two Catholic priests at Fort 
Vancouver. During the succeeding years the 
zealous missionaries of the Catholic Church 
were at work everywhere in the territory of the 
Hudson Bay Company, ministering to the spirit¬ 
ual needs of both Whites and Indians. 

Fifty-four Forty or Fight. — In 1844 the Oregon 
question became a part of the political contest 
of that year. The Democrats in their platform 
declared for the “ reannexation of Texas and the 
reoccupation of Oregon.” One of the campaign 
cries was, “ All of Oregon, fifty-four forty or 
fight.” This meant that the party claimed that 
we were entitled to all of the Oregon Territory 
up to the southern boundary of Alaska, although 
we did not have a single settlement north of the 
Columbia and the British had several important 
ones. 

But we did not fight over Oregon. The United 
States government gave notice (April, 1846) that 
we wished to end the Joint Occupancy Treaty 


EARLY SETTLEMENTS 


13 


at the end of twelve months. Then the British 
government signified its willingness to settle the 
matter peaceably, and a treaty was adopted 
(June, 1846), making the boundary between the 
two countries the 49th parallel, from the Rocky 
Mountains “ to the middle of the channel which 
separates the continent from Vancouver’s Island 
and thence southerly through the middle of said 
channel, and Fuca’s Straits, to the Pacific Ocean.” 
Later a dispute arose over the location of this 
channel, but it was settled by arbitration in 1872 
and again possible war was avoided. 

Questions 

1. Explain Dr. McLoughlin’s work and place in 
the early history of the territory. 

2. What causes led to the Whitman Massacre ? 

3. Explain what is meant by “ Fifty-four forty or 
fight.” 


CHAPTER IV 


ORGANIZED GOVERNMENT 

Territorial Government. — Long before the 
treaty of 1846 was adopted, the settlers in Oregon 
were clamoring for a government, and, as the 
United States could not organize a territorial 
government in land held jointly with Great 
Britain, the settlers called a mass meeting at 
Champoeg on May 2, 1843, and appointed a 
committee to draft a code of laws. The report 
of this committee was known as the “ First 
Organic Law ” of Oregon and was adopted on 
July 5, 1843. This code was revised the next 
year and the provisional government under it 
continued until 1848 when Congress made Oregon, 
which included what is now the State of Washing¬ 
ton, a Territory, and President Polk appointed 
General Joseph Lane of Indiana as its first gov¬ 
ernor. Washington continued to be a part of 
Oregon Territory until November 2, 1853, when 
an act of Congress was passed creating the Terri¬ 
tory of Washington. General Isaac I. Stevens 
14 


ORGANIZED GOVERNMENT 


15 


was made the first governor of the new Territory, 
which had a population of about four thousand, 
of whom less than seventeen hundred were voters. 
Governor Stevens arrived in the Territory late 
in 1853 and called for an election of the first 
legislature, which met in Olympia on Februaiy 27, 
1854. This legislature, which consisted of two 
houses called the Council and House of Repre¬ 
sentatives, contained but twenty-seven members 
(nine in the Council and eighteen in the House), 
who represented the people of eight counties. 

Governor Stevens at once applied himself to 
two perplexing problems, — roads and Indians. 
He had available routes surveyed through the 
mountain passes, and energetically urged Con¬ 
gress to connect Washington with the other 
states by means of good wagon roads. To make 
satisfactory treaties with the many Indian tribes 
required all of the new governor’s tact and a 
great deal of his time and energy, for the tribes 
were widely scattered and the roads few and 
difficult of travel. The Indians held enormous 
areas of land which the increasing white popu¬ 
lation needed, and it was perhaps inevitable that 
a clash between civilization and savagery should 


come. 


16 


HISTORY OF WASHINGTON 


Indian Wars. — Governor Stevens was still 
engaged in making treaties, when the Indians 
began to waylay and murder settlers in the 
exposed parts of the Territory. Block-houses 
were built in the more settled parts, and the 
women and children rushed to them while the 
men gathered to fight the Indians. Food grew 
scarce, ordinary business was out of the question, 
starvation, flight, or the tomahawk seemed the 
only alternatives. But the white men gave a 
good account of themselves and, with an ax 
in one hand and a rifle in the other, they cut 
their way through the forests and conquered 
their savage foes. For the better part of two 
years (1855-1856) the young communit}^ had been 
subject to that most terrible scourge — an Indian 
war. It was unfortunate that the settlers were 
hindered by divided counsels and, at times, bitter 
feelings. Governor Stevens was severely blamed 
at the time by some of the settlers, though his 
courage, unselfish purpose, and steadfast patriotism 
were not open to question. 

Pioneer Villages. — The fur trading centers 
at Okanogan, Spokane, and Walla Walla even¬ 
tually made way for the towns of the same name, 
but for a part of the time they were uninhabited. 


ORGANIZED GOVERNMENT 


17 


Fort Vancouver is the oldest continuous settle¬ 
ment of the white race in the present State of 
Washington. The first American town north 
of the Columbia River was Turn Water, which 
was founded by Michael T. Simmons in 1845. 
The site selected was on the bank of the Deschutes 
River, where it tumbles some eighty feet on its 
way to Budd’s Inlet, — an arm of Puget Sound. 
Here the water power of the falls was harnessed 
and a gristmill and sawmill were built. In 1846 
Levi Smith located a claim about two miles from 
Turn Water and named the place Smithfield, 
where the first American store was opened. 
Later, when it became apparent that Smithfield 
was to be a city, its name was changed to Olympia, 
and, as we have seen, it was selected by Governor 
Stevens as the capital of the Territory. 

During 1850 and 1851 a number of settlers 
selected lands around the present site of Seattle. 
In 1852 claims were laid out where Seattle now 
stands, and a sawmill was erected by Henry L. 
Yesler. This was the first steam sawmill on 
Puget Sound, and it was an institution of such 
importance that Mr. Yesler was often referred 
to as the real father of the city, though he was 
not actually the first settler. The town was 


18 


HISTORY OF WASHINGTON 


named after a friendly Indian chief. In the 
same year that Seattle was founded, a Swedish 



Old Territorial Capitol, Olympia 


settler, Nicholas Delin, laid out a claim on Com¬ 
mencement Bay where he interested others with 
him in building a water-power sawmill. At a 









ORGANIZED GOVERNMENT 19 

later time this settlement was named Tacoma, — 
the Indian name for Mt. Rainier. 

Great local rivalries grew up between the 
young settlements. 

Walla Walla was at first the metropolis of the 
Territory, and each of the others looked forward 
to the time when it could outnumber the leader 
in population. The strongest rivalry lay between 
Seattle and Tacoma in the race for population 
and business supremacy, but there were also 
heated contests between Chehalis and Centralia, 
Sprague and Davenport, Spokane and Cheney. 

Pioneer Homes. — The homes built by the 
first American settlers on the Pacific Coast were 
in every way counterparts of those built more 
than two centuries before by the Pilgrim Fathers 
on the Atlantic Coast, and of those built by all 
the families of the pioneers in their wonderful 
march across a continent from sea to sea. They 
were built of logs and chinked with moss and 
mud. In the forties and fifties a feather bed was 
considered necessary for the health and comfort 
of every household. The men could easily rest 
on a buffalo robe and blanket, but the women 
and children must have the feathers. Stoves 
were out of the question. Food was cooked on 


20 


HISTORY OF WASHINGTON 


the open fire. Furniture of rude pattern was 
made by hand, the table being hinged against 
the wall so it could be lifted out of the way wdien 
not in use. The supply of cloth and thread 
became exhausted, and mothers bought of the 
Ipdian women buckskin and shredded deer-sinew 
with which to make clothing for the boys. The 
Puget Sound climate was not suitable for buck¬ 
skin clothing. The first shower would cause 
the trousers to drag on the ground, and when 
the boys were stood around a fire to dry, the 
trousers would shrivel up, rattle and scrape as 
if made of tin. The Indians, though friendly, 
were bold and curious. They stalked into the 
cabins, sat down by the fire, and patiently ob¬ 
served the mysteries of pale-face cookery. One 
woman told how an Indian made her nervous, 
“ by poking his dirty finger into a loaf of bread 
she was baking before the fire.” She took up 
her wooden shovel, stirred up the fire, and as 
the Indian scrambled back from the sparks, she 
gave his bare legs an awful spank with the hot 
shovel. He rushed from the cabin with a yell, 
and then she sat down and cried for fear of a 
scalping party in retaliation. To keep the Indians 
out of the cabins and still retain light and venti- 


ORGANIZED GOVERNMENT 


21 


lation from the only opening in the structures, a 
half door was invented, so the upper half could 
remain open while the lower half was bolted. 
Thereafter the Indians contented themselves by 
peering over the obstacle and making comments 
and observations at a more respectful distance. 

Statehood. — Washington remained a Territory 
for thirty-six years, growing in population and 
wealth. The Northern Pacific Railroad was 
completed in 1883, and six years later Congress 
passed the Enabling Act authorizing the organ¬ 
ization of the State of Washington. The act 
required that the new government should be 
republican in form, that there should be made no 
distinctions in civil or political rights on account 
of race or color, that there should be perfect 
toleration in religion, and that free public schools 
must be maintained. To support these schools 
the sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections of land 
in every township were reserved. Other grants 
were also made for higher schools, public build¬ 
ings, and charitable, penal, and reformatory in¬ 
stitutions. The Constitutional Convention met 
in Olympia and completed the constitution under 
which we still live. 

At the election held October 1, 1889, the con- 


22 


HISTORY OF WASHINGTON 


stitution was approved by a majority of the 
voters and a complete list of state officers chosen. 
Elisha P. Ferry, who had been governor of the 
Territory from 1872 to 1880, was chosen first 
governor of the new state. On November 11, 
President Harrison proclaimed that all the con¬ 
ditions of the Enabling Act had been fulfilled, 
and Washington was declared admitted to the 
Union. 

Questions 

1. How did the first government in Oregon originate ? 

2. Who was the first governor? 

3. When was Washington Territory organized? 

4. Who was its first governor? 

5. What difficulties did the governor encounter? 

6. Where was the first permanent settlement made? 
Locate it on the map. 

7. Describe a pioneer home. Are there any in 
your neighborhood? 

8. What requirements did the Enabling Act impose 
on those who organized the state government of 
Washington? 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


CHAPTER V 

SOME ADVANTAGES OF WESTERN STATES 

Conditions and Opportunities. — Washington 
Territory was made a state in 1889, just one 
hundred and two years after the United States 
Constitution was framed. The longer a govern¬ 
ment has been established, the more likely it is 
that its form and methods will remain unchanged, 
because it is much easier to leave things as they 
are, even when they are working only fairly well. 
Governments must change when the circumstances 
under which people live change, if new conditions 
are to be controlled wisely. Conditions have 
changed very rapidly during the last seventy-five 
years. 

The inhabitants of our state have come from 
all parts of the country, and so have had expe¬ 
rience with many different forms of local govern¬ 
ment. We are thus able to profit from the 
combined wisdom of the older states, while we 
23 


24 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


are not bound by anything they may have that 
is not suitable for us. 

The pioneers in the settlement of new states 
have always had more than the ordinary amount 
of enterprise and independence, because such 
qualities are needed to meet the difficulties of 
frontier life. Pioneer life also means equality 
of opportunity for every one. For these reasons 
we find that new states always give the people 
more direct power in the government than is 
common in the older states. It was in this way 
that all men were given the right to vote. Wheij 
the first states west of the Alleghany Mountains 
framed their constitutions, all men were given 
the right to vote. After a time, the older states 
felt that they must grant the same right, or too 
many men would leave them to go to the new 
states. So, one by one, the older states amended 
their constitutions, until we now have manhood 
suffrage all over the Union. 

We should remember that we who live in the 
Far Western states are the standard bearers for 
the whole country, because our governments are 
new. We have the greatest opportunity to make 
our local governments the very best in the world, 
to our own advantage and credit, and as an 


SOME ADVANTAGES OF WESTERN STATES 25 


example to the other states of the Union. In¬ 
deed, throughout the whole civilized world people 
are now watching to see how other countries 
solve the problems of local government. If we 
are wise and honest in our administration of 
affairs, our cities and schools may be an inspira¬ 
tion to the older cities and schools, even those of 
the European countries which our ancestors left 
years ago. 

Questions 

1. Why is it difficult to change governments already 
established ? 

2. Where did our settlers come from? 

3. What kind of people come from the older states? 

4. What advantages do we gain from these people? 
What disadvantages? 

5. Why is there greater equality in a new state? 


CHAPTER VI 


CITIZENSHIP IN WASHINGTON 

Who is a Citizen ? — Every person, bom or 
naturalized in any of the states of the Union, 
who comes to live in the state of Washington, 
is a citizen of the state. Besides citizens, we 
have in our state many residents of foreign birth 
who are known as aliens. All foreigners are aliens 
when they first come to live among us. The 
United States Government permits some aliens to 
become citizens by a process called naturalization. 

Every country has a perfect right to decide 
for itself whether or not it will allow foreigners 
to become citizens, and on just what terms this 
may be done. In some countries, citizenship 
has been denied to all foreigners. Our country 
has been very liberal in permitting aliens to 
become citizens, and this policy has made us a 
great nation. A majority of the people of the 
United States came from foreign countries within 
four generations. Asiatics are the first people 
that we have refused naturalization. Most of 


26 


CITIZENSHIP IN WASHINGTON 27 

the Asiatics of this country live in the Pacific 
Coast states, so that it is important for us to 
understand their rights and privileges among us. 
We must remember that we have denied them 
citizenship, not because we do not admire and 
respect them, for the more we know them, the 
more we are compelled to appreciate them; but 
because they were arriving in such numbers, 
before our native population was very numerous, 
that there was danger of the Pacific Coast civiliza¬ 
tion becoming more like that of Asia than like 
that of the rest of America. We may profit in 
some things from the example of the Asiatics, 
such as the cleanliness and artistic workmanship 
of the Japanese, and the sterling honesty of the 
Chinese in money transactions. But in assimilat¬ 
ing their good qualities we must guard against 
having their less desirable ones impressed on 
our civilization through superiority of numbers. 
When the native population is as numerous on 
the Pacific Coast as it is on the Atlantic, it will 
be as easy for the Western states to admit all 
foreigners who come to their shores, as it has 
been for the Eastern states. 

Privileges of Citizens under the Law. — The 
state laws must be made to apply to all citizens 



SCHOOLHOUSE, KlNG COUNTY TYPE OF VILLAGE SCHOOL 

ONSOLIDATED SCHOOL DISTRICT CONSOLIDATED DISTRICT, KLICKITAT COUNTY 































CITIZENSHIP IN WASHINGTON 


29 


alike, but they may affect aliens differently from 
citizens. In Washington we give the aliens 
almost the same privileges as citizens enjoy, as 
long as a wise policy justifies it. We should 
always remember that in doing this we are only 
continuing that true, noble attitude toward the 
rest of the world which has always been associated 
with the word “ America.” Citizens should never 
take advantage of aliens just because they have 
the power to do so. 

Washington laws give aliens the same security 
in the enjoyment of life, personal liberty, property, 
and business that they give citizens. We welcome 
them in our schools, libraries, churches, public 
amusements, and public accommodations of all 
kinds. We do not permit aliens, however, to 
buy land, because if we did there would be danger 
of their eventually assuming control. Some aliens 
do hold land here. They are those who bought it 
before the state constitution denied them the priv¬ 
ilege, and those who have received it by inherit¬ 
ance, or on mortgage. It would be unfair to take 
land already in the possession of aliens, to refuse 
to let them will it to their children, or to permit 
citizens to borrow money from aliens and deny 
them the privilege of holding mortgages as security. 


30 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


Powers of Citizens in Government. — All citi¬ 
zens, and those male persons who at the time of 
the adoption of our state constitution were quali¬ 
fied electors of the Territory, have a right to 
participate in our government, general and local. 
The important governing powers exercised by 
citizens in this state are as follows: voting for 
officials, voting on laws, holding government 
office, bringing measures up for the consideration 
of the voters by petitions, service on juries, 
and service in the state militia. 

In order to be qualified to vote for national, 
county, township, city, or town officials, or on 
amendments to the state constitution or city 
charters, or on laws which may be referred to 
the people, a citizen must be twenty-one years 
old, and must have lived in the state one year, 
in the county ninety days, and in the ward and 
precinct where he offers to vote, thirty days just 
preceding the election. 

Woman Suffrage. — In the first legislature of 
Washington a bill was introduced to confer the 
suffrage on white women. It failed in that 
session but the agitation persisted until this 
privilege was granted to women in 1883. At 
the general elections of 1884 and 1886 the women 


CITIZENSHIP IN WASHINGTON • 31 


of Washington enjoyed the right to vote, hold 
office, and serve as jurors, but, in 1887, the privilege 
was withdrawn by a decision of the Territorial 
Supreme Court. In 1909 the state legislature 
passed a constitutional amendment to again 
confer the suffrage on women and this amendment 
was approved by a majority of the voters at the 
general election of November, 1910, so that the 
women of Washington now have the same political 
rights as men. 

To hold office a person must be a voter, but for 
some offices there are additional requirements 
such as long residence, ownership of land, tax- 
paying, and giving bonds. To serve on juries 
in this state a citizen must be both a voter and a 
tax-payer. All male citizens may serve in the 
militia, but any man who has conscientious 
scruples against bearing arms may be exempt, 
except in time of actual warfare. 

Questions 

1. Who are citizens in Washington? 

2. Why are some foreigners excluded from citizen¬ 
ship ? Is this right ? 

3. What are the privileges of citizenship? 

4. What privileges are allowed to aliens? 

5. Who may vote in Washington? 


CHAPTER VII 


THE GENERAL ELECTION 

Direct Primary Elections. — One of the im¬ 
portant improvements which is being put into 
operation in the West is the direct primary elec¬ 
tion. Formerly political parties nominated their 
candidates by conventions of delegates, but the 
people grew to distrust these political conventions 
because there was no way to control the delegates 
in the convention. In addition, the convention 
plan usually develops the political boss and 
encourages the organization of the ‘political ma¬ 
chine. Party platforms are still made by con¬ 
ventions, when made at all, no satisfactory scheme 
for defining party issues having yet been devised 
by the direct nomination plan. The direct 
primary law is based on the principle that to 
nominate is as important as to elect, for if the 
voter has no real choice between candidates his 
vote is not very valuable. Under this law every 
voter has an opportunity to have a voice in the 
selection of candidates. The weakness of the 
32 


THE GENERAL ELECTION 


33 


direct primary lies in the ease of nomination, 
and the large amount of money spent in placing 
the candidates' claims before the public. In a 
recent city election there were sixty-seven can¬ 
didates for nine places in the Council. Most 
of the voters never heard of half of the candidates 
before they filed for office. When the voter is com¬ 
pelled to elect his officers from a number of unknown 
candidates his choice is largely guess-work, and 
guess-work in government is costly and disastrous. 

Our state law provides that primary elections 
shall be held on the second Tuesday of September 
preceding the regular November elections (or at 
least four weeks before other elections), for (1) all 
state officers, except supreme judges and presi¬ 
dential electors; (2) all county officers; (3) city 
officials, excepting those of fourth-class cities; and 
(4) United States representatives and senators. 
(Cities of the first class which have adopted their 
own charters providing for non-partisan elections 
are also excepted.) 

The Constitution of the United States originally 
provided for the election of United States senators 
by the state legislatures (see p. 217) 1 ; but this 

1 All page references in this Supplement refer to Reinsch’s 
Civil Government. 


34 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


plan was not satisfactory because the state legis¬ 
latures were instituted to pass laws for the people 
of the state and should not be concerned with 
national political issues. Deadlocks and bribery 
often resulted, so the law was changed in this 
state to make direct nominations possible. The 
members of the legislature felt bound to elect 
the man the people had nominated, so that prac¬ 
tically the election was made by the people. In 
1911 an amendment to the United States Con¬ 
stitution was submitted to the states, which 
provided for the election of senators directly 
by the people. This amendment has been ratified 
and is now a part of the Constitution — the 
seventeenth amendment. 

Any person having the qualifications for holding 
office may file notice of his candidacy, upon paying 
a fee proportionate to the salary of the office for 
which he is applying. He files an application for 
the position as the candidate of one of the political 
parties. Ballots are printed for each party. The 
names of candidates are placed on the ballot of 
the party indicated on the application. A voter 
calls for the ballot of the party in which he wishes 
to have a voice in the nomination. He can vote 
on the nominations of only one party. If there 


THE GENERAL ELECTION 


35 


are four or more candidates for a state office on a 
party ballot, a voter must vote a first and a second 
choice. If any candidate leads the others and 
has at least forty per cent of the first-choice 
votes, he gets the nomination. If no candidates 
get forty per cent of the first-choice votes, the 
first-choice and the second-choice votes for each 
candidate are added together, and the person 
who gets the highest number is nominated. 
Where first-choice and second-choice voting is 
not required, the one receiving the highest number 
is nominated. 

Election Days. — The regular election for con¬ 
gressional, state, and county officers, and for 
presidential electors, is held on the first Tuesday 
after the first Monday in November of even- 
numbered years, eveiy two or four years depend¬ 
ing upon the length of the term of office. Each 
county is divided into small districts, known as 
precincts, for convenience in voting. Election 
officers are appointed to supervise the voting 
in each precinct. These officers are responsible 
for the correct conduct of the voting in their 
precinct, and each party is represented as far as 
possible on the election boards. The ballots are 
furnished by the county auditor. They are all 


36 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


numbered, and are printed on white paper of 
uniform size. Each voter must mark his ballot 
in secret, and return it to the election officials 
folded, so that his voting may not be known. 
In the case of voters who cannot read, the law 
provides that one of the election officials may 
mark the ballot as the voter directs. When the 
polls close the votes are counted and recorded in 
poll books, and are kept on file by the county 
auditor, who also announces the results of the 
election. 

In many of the larger cities voting machines 
have been recently introduced to save the expense 
and wearisome labor of counting the votes. 
When the voter has voted he pulls a lever that 
automatically counts and conceals his vote. 
When the last vote is in, the election officials 
unlock the machine and the recorded results are 
read and certified to the county auditor. 

In city elections the process is substantially the 
same. The cities of Seattle, Tacoma, and Spokane 
have modified the primary election laws by amend¬ 
ing their city charters. The primary elections in 
these cities are non-partisan, which means that 
the ballot in no way indicates to what party the 
candidate belongs. Political parties do not, there- 


THE GENERAL ELECTION 


37 


fore, nominate tickets in these cities and the voter 
must rely upon his own judgment and knowledge 
of the candidates. This makes it possible for 
him to have a freer choice of officers, but it also 
places a greater responsibility upon him, and the 
successful operation of the scheme requires a 
larger measure of political intelligence. It is 
easy to see then, why, under the newer plan, the 
schools must educate future citizens to meet this 
heavy political responsibility. 

Questions 

1. Explain the difference between nomination by 
convention and by direct primary. 

2. What change affecting the states was made by 
the seventeenth amendment to the Constitution of 
the United States? 

3. Explain first-choice and second-choice votes. 

4. Suppose a person cannot read, can he vote? 
How ? Should he be allowed to vote ? Why ? 


CHAPTER VIII 


MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT 

The Problem of the City. — It is often stated 
that in America the government of the cities has 
been less successful than that of our nation, our 
state, or our rural communities. This is due in 
part to the fact that it is a new problem. The 
rapid growth of cities has forced the subject of 
their government upon us before we have de¬ 
vised methods of government suited to their needs. 
Too often, also, we have voted for or against men 
on political issues that had no meaning in city 
contests. Again, it has been hard to foresee that 
the carefully laid plans for the future would be 
outgrown almost before they were completed. 

The rapid growth of cities everywhere is one 
of the marvels of the age. Cities present attrac¬ 
tions in the way of business, social life, amuse¬ 
ments. They have the advantage of public 
improvements that furnish light, water, trans¬ 
portation, protection, etc. These public “ utili¬ 
ties ” (see pp. 86-89) are matters in which the 
38 


MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT 


39 


residents of cities are vitally interested. How 
much liberty should the state give them in han¬ 
dling their own affairs? This is becoming an 
important question in all states and countries. 
In Washington the state constitution and laws 
give our municipal governments a great deal of 
local independence or “ home rule/’ as it is called. 
For instance, — if the voters of one of our larger 
cities wish to have their city own the street rail¬ 
ways, or any other public utility, they can settle 
this question for themselves. Nearly all the cities 
of Washington own their water systems, many 
own their electric power plants, and Seattle has 
recently purchased nearly all the street car lines 
in the city. In some of the older states, the 
people of the city would be obliged to obtain 
the consent of the legislature to do anything of 
this kind. 

Kinds of City Governments. — Our municipal 
governments are divided into four classes, accord¬ 
ing to population. Cities having more than 
20,000 residents are called cities of the first class . 
These cities may make for themselves any kind 
of charter or plan of government which does not 
conflict with state laws. The voters of such a 
city elect fifteen freeholders to frame a charter. 


40 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


This charter is submitted to a vote of the people. 
It becomes the plan of government, if a majority 
vote for it. - The people of Washington have 
used their privileges so independently that the 
city governments differ widely in character. We 
shall consider some of these differences separately 
in the next chapter. The state has made a uni¬ 
form plan for the governments of each of the 
other classes of cities. 

Second-class cities are those having between 
10,000 and 20,000 population. Cities of this 
class have been given power to do for themselves 
practically everything that is necessary. Their 
privileges are fewer than those of the first-class 
cities, but more numerous than those of the third 
class. 

Each second-class city has a mayor and a 
council of twelve, all elected for two years, one 
half of the council being elected one year, and 
the other half the next. The councilmen are 
elected to represent the wards into which the 
city is divided. The other officers elected are a 
treasurer and a city clerk. They serve for one 
year. A street commissioner, an assessor, a 
police judge, and a city attorney, each of whom 
serves a one-year term, and the library trustees, 


MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT 


41 


if there are any, are appointed by the mayor and 
council. The chief of police is appointed by the 
mayor. The salaries of the mayor and council- 
men are fixed by the council. This body also 
fixes other salaries, guided by a fixed limit, which 
it cannot exceed. 

A city with a population between 1500 and 
10,000 has a third-class government. The voters 
in these cities elect a mayor, seven councilmen, 
a treasurer, a city attorney, and a city clerk. 
All serve for two years, except the councilmen, 
who serve for four years. The chief of police, 
police judge, city engineer, street superintendent, 
and health officer are appointed by the mayor 
and confirmed by the council. The terms of 
these appointive officers expire at the same time 
as the mayor’s term, unless removed sooner by 
the mayor with the consent of not less than four 
councilmen. The members of the council receive 
no salary, but fix the salaries of other officials. 

If the number of residents in a community is 
less than 1500, but exceeds 300, it may have a 
town government. A town has a mayor and five 
councilmen, all of whom are elected for two years 
and serve without a salary. A treasurer is elected 
for one year. The mayor appoints a marshal 


42 GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 

and clerk, and the council fixes their salaries. No 
city or town may for any purpose become in¬ 
debted to an amount exceeding one and one-half 
per cent of its taxable property, without the 
assent of three-fifths of the voters at an election 
held for that purpose, and in no case can it incur 
an indebtedness exceeding five per cent of the 
value of the taxable property therein. With 
the assent of three-fifths of the voters, however, 
cities or towns may incur an additional debt 
amounting to not more than five per cent for 
supplying city water, light, and sewers. 

Questions 

1. Why do our cities present difficult problems in 
government ? 

2. What are the causes for the rapid growth of 
cities ? 

3. What are the kinds of city government in Wash¬ 
ington? Why are they so classified? 

4. What cities are near your home? In what class 
is each? 


CHAPTER IX 


CITIES OF THE FIRST CLASS 

Direct Democracy. — The most striking thing 
about the charters which the voters of Washington 
cities have made for themselves is the number of 
powers they have kept within their own hands. 
The people of several of these large cities may 
have direct government by the people, instead of 
representative government, whenever they wish 
it. Cities gave up the old style of direct democ¬ 
racy (see p. 9) because they became too large 
for it to work easily. Now they have new methods 
for securing its advantages, which can readily be 
made effective in a city of any size. These 
methods are: (1) popular initiative; (2) the 

popular referendum; and (3) the popular recall 
of officers. 

The initiative permits the voters to propose a 
law by petition. 

The referendum provides that the voters may 
vote by ballot on laws passed by the council, 
under the same system used when they vote for 
43 


44 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


officials. These methods are superior to the old 
style of direct government, because the people 
need only take up such laws as they wjsh, while 
the fact that they may do so at any time makes 
their officials more anxious to carry out their 
wishes. 

By the recall the voters may petition to hold 
another election for any office, before the term 
of the incumbent has expired, if they think he 
is not discharging his duties as he should. A 
good officer does not fear a recall. The city 
does not have to suffer from a poor officer until 
the end of his term. Properly safeguarded, the 
recall has many advantages. Washington was 
one of the first states to adopt the recall. 

The wonderful cities of ancient and medieval 
times were nearly all governed directly by the 
people themselves during the time of their greatest 
progress. Representative government does not 
always make it easy for the people to secure what 
they want. ' But with the rights and privileges 
which we have been discussing, in their hands, 
the voters can have just what they want, and 
it will be their fault if they do not have the best 
and noblest city life the world has ever seen. 
The young people of the large cities of Washington 


CITIES OF THE FIRST CLASS * 45 


are the heirs to a wider freedom than any other 
people have enjoyed anywhere in the world for 
hundreds of years. What will they do with it? 

The Seattle Charter. — The voters of Seattle 
possess very great power. A petition signed 
by 10 per cent of the voters who voted at the 
last previous election brings a measure before the 
city council. The council may decide upon it 
themselves, or they may refer it to the people 
to be voted on. If the council fails to consider 
it within a reasonable time, the comptroller calls 
for a vote of the people on it. If 20 per cent of 
the same number of voters sign the petition, it 
goes directly to a vote of the people without being 
considered by the council. If 8 per cent of the 
voters object by a petition to an ordinance which 
the council has passed, within 30 days after its 
passage, it must be referred to the voters. Old 
franchises can be renewed oply by a popular vote. 
Any number of the council greater than one-third 
can refer a measure to popular vote. Amend¬ 
ments to the city charter may be proposed by a 
majority of the council, or by a petition signed 
by 20 per cent of the registered voters. Each 
measure which is referred to the voters is decided 
by a majority of the votes cast. 


46 * GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 

A recall election may be held on petition of 
25 per cent of those who voted for all officers at 
the last election. The names of new candidates 
for the office, together with the name of the 
official then in the office, unless he refuses to have 
his name used, are put before the voters, just as 
at any other election. 

All initiative petitions must be filed with the 
comptroller. 

The primary elections of city officers are non¬ 
partisan. There is only one ballot. The names 
of all candidates for an office are grouped to¬ 
gether without anything to indicate to what 
political party they belong. 

Elective Officials. — The mayor of Seattle 
serves two years at a salary of $7,500 a year. 
He must be at least thirty years old and have 
been a citizen, a voter, and a tax-payer in the city 
for four years before his election. He enforces 
the laws within the city and has a veto on all 
legislation. He appoints many administrative 
officers with the consent of the council. 

The council is composed of nine councilmen- 
at-large, elected for three years, one-third going 
out of office each year. The salary of council- 
men is $3000. Other elective officers are the 


CITIES OF THE FIRST CLASS 


47 


corporation council, the treasurer, and the comp¬ 
troller. Their salaries range from $4000 to $5000. 

Appointive Officials. — The chief of police and 
the fire chief are appointed by the mayor. He 
may remove the former at any time, but the 
latter can be removed only for cause, under 
civil service rules. The mayor and the council 
appoint the board of public works, consisting of 
five members: the city engineer, who makes 
plans for all general improvements; the superin¬ 
tendent of public utilities (see p. 89); the super¬ 
intendent of streets; the superintendent of 
lighting and water works; and the superintendent 
of buildings. A board of appeals, consisting of 
three members, a library board consisting of 
seven members, a civil service commissioner, a 
commissioner of health, and a board of health 
are all appointed in the same way. The salaries 
of the appointive officials are fixed by the council. 
The city engineer receives a salary higher than 
that of any elective officer in the state. 

It will be noticed that there is a great deal of 
power centralized in the mayor and council. Only 
in this way can they be held responsible. This 
principle of responsibility is carried further in the 
next charter which we consider, — that of Tacoma. 


48 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


City Government by Commission. — One of 

the most notable single developments of recent 
years in the field of American city affairs is the 
rapid and widespread interest in the commission 
form of city government. There are several 
types of commission government (Tacoma and 
Spokane are representatives of two types), but 
they all agree in concentrating the governing 
powers in a small number of members. Usually 
the number of commissioners is either five or 
seven. This means that those responsible for 
the immediate conduct of city affairs are few' in 
number. They are easily watched by the voter, 
and may be held definitely responsible for acts of 
government. The election ballot contains but 
few names, thus making it possible for the voter 
to learn something definite about the candidates 
seeking his vote. Usually each commissioner is 
given immediate supervision of one department 
of government and has, of course, w r ith the other 
commissioners, general supervision of all the 
departments. The commissioners bear the same 
general relation to the city government that the 
board of directors do to the management of a 
bank or a railroad. Experts look after the de¬ 
tailed management of the departments. In each 


CITIES OF THE FIRST CLASS 


49 


plan of commission form of government there 
are also a number of things that are generally 
associated with that form of government. These 
are initiative, referendum, recall, the merit 
system of appointment, and non-partisan elec¬ 
tions. These are all a part of Seattle’s city 
government though that is not a commission 
form. With very few exceptions the cities adopt¬ 
ing the commission form have been well satisfied 
with it. Undoubtedly better results have been 
attained, but some of these results are due to the 
simplification brought in with the commission 
form. Some of them are due, however, to greater 
popular control of the officers, and to an awakened 
interest in city affairs. 

The Tacoma Charter. — Tacoma has lately 
adopted what is called the commission form of 
government. Every four years the voters elect 
a mayor, four councilmen-at-large, and a comp¬ 
troller. The salary of the mayor is $4000, and 
that of the councilmen $3600. The council 
appoints a city clerk, all other officers being 
appointed by the mayor. Each elective officer 
is the head of one department of government. 
The mayor is commissioner of public affairs, 
health, and sanitation. One councilman is com- 


50 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


missioner of public safety, another is commissioner 
of public works, such as street improvements, 
another is commissioner of light and water, and 
the fourth is commissioner of finance. 

The advantage of this plan of government is 
that the voters need to know the merits of only 



High School and Stadium, Tacoma 


a few men in order to vote intelligently. In a 
large city it is very difficult for all voters to know 
much about the candidates for office if there is a 
long list to be elected. It is also much easier, 
when the power is centralized, to hold the officers 
responsible for good government. 




CITIES OF THE FIRST CLASS 


51 


Non-partisan Elections. — Candidates in non¬ 
partisan elections are nominated by petitions. 
Each candidate, to have his name considered, 
must file twenty-five certificates from voters 
asking that he be a candidate. The ballots do 
not indicate the party of any candidate. If any 
candidate receives the majority of all the votes 
cast for an office in the primary election, he is 
elected. If no candidates receive a majority in 
the primary elections, the names of the two having 
the highest number of votes are voted on again 
in the regular election. 

Direct Legislation. — The provisions for the 
popular initiative, the popular referendum, and 
the popular recall of the officers are much like 
those of the Seattle charter. The number of 
names required on petitions is a little different. 

In addition to the popular recall an undesirable 
member of the council may be expelled by the 
votes of the other four. 

Spokane has also adopted the commission 
government in a slightly different form. Five 
commissioners are elected, and they elect one of 
their number to be president of the council who 
is thereby made mayor. Members are assigned 
to the five departments by the commission itself 



52 GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 

and they may be changed from one department 
to another at will of the commission. 

Nominations are made by petition as in Tacoma. 
Recall is also a part of the plan, and a recalled 


Lewis and Clark High School, Spokane 

member is disqualified for office for two years 
thereafter. 

In all there are nearly a dozen cities in Wash¬ 
ington that have the commission form of govern¬ 
ment. The list includes Centralia, Chehalis, 
Everett, Hoquiam, North Yakima, and Walla 
Walla. 

The loudest complaint against the new de¬ 
mocracy comes from those people who object to 





CITIES OF THE FIRST CLASS 53 

so much political agitation as is involved in fre¬ 
quent elections and recalls. In their opinion it 
would be better for the people to endure bad 
officers for a term of years rather than remove 
them by means of the recall. The friends of 
the newer government argue that if the people 
make a mistake they should have a chance to 
remedy it at once. 


Questions 

1. What is meant by democracy? 

2. Why was the old form of democracy given up ? 

3. Is democracy always a successful form of govern¬ 
ment ? Why ? 

4. How may a law be initiated in Seattle? 

5. How may an officer be recalled in Seattle ? Find 
out if you can how the recall has worked there. 

6. Who may be a mayor? Who may be a council¬ 
man? 

7. What are the principal appointive officers and 
their duties? 

8. How does the government of Tacoma differ from 
that of Seattle ? 

9. What advantages result from placing the gov¬ 
ernment in a few hands? What disadvantages? 

10. Find out what you can about the working of 
the governments of Tacoma, Spokane, and other cities 
near your home. 


CHAPTER X 


COUNTIES AND TOWNSHIPS 

County Government. — The county is the most 
important local division of government in our 
state (see p. 180), although we do have township 
government in some counties. 

The counties of Washington are divided into 
classes according to their population. There 
are nine classes. The first class is called “ Class 
A,” and the other classes are numbered from one 
to eight. Counties having a population over 
210,000 are in Class A and those having less than 
4000 population are in Class Eight. The others 
are classified according to their population. New 
counties are created by a special act of the legis¬ 
lature. 

In each county a city or town has been selected 
as the county seat. Here the county courthouse 
is located. In this courthouse are found the 
offices of county officials, the court rooms of the 
superior judges, and often the county jail. 

The salaries of county officers depend on the 
class in which a county belongs. Salaries are 
54 


COUNTIES AND TOWNSHIPS 


55 


higher in the counties of the first classes than they 
are in those of the last classes. All the officers 
of a county of the first class (A) receive a salary 
of $3600, except the coroner, who receives $2000. 
Those in the ninth class (Class 8) range from $1200 
paid the auditor and the treasurer to $900 paid 
the clerk and the superintendent of schools. 
In this latter class of counties the engineer, 
assessor, and county commissioners are paid by 
the day ($6) for the time actually spent at their 
work. Beginning in November, 1922, and there¬ 
after each county will elect for a term of four years 
the following officers: auditor, clerk, treasurer, 
sheriff, attorney, superintendent of schools, as¬ 
sessor, surveyor, and, in counties of the first class 
(A), a coroner. The county commissioners are 
elected for two years. Until the new law goes 
into effect in November, 1922, the terms will all 
be two years. No county officer is eligible to 
hold his office more than two terms in succession. 

The auditor keeps a record of all the transactions 
of the board of county commissioners. He signs 
all warrants for the payment of money. In his 
office deeds, mortgages, leases, marriage licenses, 
and patents of land are recorded. He publishes an 
account of the finances of the county once a year. 


56 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


The county commissioners have supervision 
of the county business and property, including 
the general management of the courthouse, jails, 
poor farms, and county hospital. They lay out 
and have charge of the county roads, bridges, 
and ferries, and fix the amount of county taxes 
to be assessed. 

The coroner’s duties require him to take charge 
of the body of any person the cause of whose 
death is unknown, and where there is reasonable 
ground for believing that such death was caused 
by unlawful means. He has the power to summon 
a jur}q known as the coroner’s jury, which hears 
the evidence in the case and may cause the arrest 
and prosecution of persons believed to have un¬ 
lawfully caused death. In 1913 the legislature 
abolished the office of coroner in all counties except 
those of the first class. In all other counties the 
duties formerly exercised by the coroner are 
exercised by a justice of the peace acting under 
the direction of, and with the cooperation of, the 
prosecuting attorney. 

The sheriff is the peace officer of the county. 
It is his duty to arrest and commit to prison for 
trial all persons who break the peace and all 
persons guilty of public offenses. He executes 


COUNTIES AND TOWNSHIPS 


57 


the processes and orders of the courts, and arrests 
persons for whom warrants are issued. 

The county treasurer is custodian of all money 
belonging to the county. This money he can pay 
out only on the warrant of the proper disbursing 
officer, after such warrant is countersigned by the 
auditor. All county and state taxes are collected 
by the county treasurer. 

The prosecuting attorney is the legal repre¬ 
sentative of the people of the county in all actions 
in court where the people of the county are con¬ 
cerned. It is his duty to prosecute alL violations 
of the law. He is also the legal adviser of all 
county officers, and is required to draw up for 
them all contracts, obligations, and other legal 
instruments. He must therefore have been ad¬ 
mitted to practice as an attorney and counselor 
by the courts of the state, in order to be eligible 
for the office of prosecuting attorney. 

No county may become indebted in any manner 
for an amount exceeding one and one-half per cent 
of the taxable property of the county without the 
consent of three-fifths of the voters expressed at 
an election for that purpose, and under no con¬ 
dition may it become indebted for an amount ex¬ 
ceeding five per cent of the taxable property. 



New State Road in Process of Construction, Olympia Highway through the 

Snoqualmie Pass. Elevation 3010 Feet High Timber 













COUNTIES AND TOWNSHIPS 


59 


Townships. — If the voters in any county wish 
township government, they may have it. It 
is a little more costly for the people of a county 
to maintain township government than to do 
without it, because they have to pay an additional 
set of officers. Many times, however, people feel 
that they would rather be under a little more 
expense and have the privilege of managing their 
neighborhood affairs without having to do things 
as they are done in other parts of the county. 

A petition to the county commissioners, signed 
by one hundred people, will cause the matter to 
be brought to a vote of the people at the next 
election. If a majority of the voters of the county 
decide in its favor, the county outside the cities 
will be divided into townships. One annual town 
meeting is held each year (see pp. 163-167), at 
which meeting town officers are elected. All 
important business for the town is transacted at 
this meeting. The most important power which 
may be exercised by the people in town meetings 
is to raise taxes for roads and bridges. 

The town officers are three supervisors, a town 
clerk, a treasurer, an assessor, a justice of the 
peace, a constable. An overseer of highways 
may be appointed by the board of supervisors. 


60 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


Questions 

1. Why is county government important to the 
citizens ? 

2. What is the work of the county commissioners? 

3. Who are the commissioners in your county? 
What work are they now doing in your neighborhood ? 

4. Visit if you can some of the offices of your county, 
the poor farm, and the county jail. If you live near 
the county seat or in a large city you will be greatly 
interested in visiting a court while a case is being tried. 


CHAPTER XI 



STATE GOVERNMENT 

State Capital. — Our state capital is located at 
Olympia, at the head of Puget Sound. The sea, 
mountains, and evergreen forests which surround 


State Capitol, Olympia 

Olympia have given it unsurpassed natural beauty. 
The United States Government granted over a 
hundred and thirty thousand acres for the erection 
of legislative, judicial, executive, and other public 
61 




62 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


buildings at the state capital. Only a small part 
of the grant has as yet been sold. This generous 
endowment makes it possible for our legislature 
to give us, as fast as we need them, imposing and 
beautiful public buildings. 

The business of conducting the state govern¬ 
ment is so well organized that a visit to Olympia 
between legislative sessions would never suggest 
to a stranger that the little city is the center from 
which a state, greater than many European 
kingdoms, is being governed. We must remember 
that though our government runs quietly and 
without much demonstration, it has great in¬ 
fluence over our lives and fortunes, and so every 
one of us should have the keenest personal interest 
in it. 

When the legislature is in session, the capital 
is very lively. The state senators and the state 
representatives are there throughout the session. 
Many of them bring their families. Every train 
and boat brings in other visitors. Men and 
women from all parts of the state, and some from 
outside the state, come to see about some bill 
they want the legislature to pass, or to reject. 

The Legislative Department. — Although the 
constitutions of different states are very similar 


STATE GOVERNMENT 


63 


in most respects, the constitution of Washington 
has certain distinctive features worthy of careful 
study. In each state the three departments of 
government are provided for, — the legislative, 
the executive, and the judicial. In Washington 
the legislative power is lodged in the legislature 
as in most states, but the people have reserved 
the power to propose bills and laws, and to enact 
the same at the polls. They 'have also reserved 
the right to reject acts of the legislature at the 
polls. The power to make laws in this way is called 
direct legislation, or the Initiative. The power to 
adopt or reject laws is called the Referendum. 

Initiative and Referendum. — Originally all 
the legislative power was in the hands of the 
legislature, the only restriction being the veto 
of the governor. In 1913 provision was made 
(1) for the popular initiative of bills to be sub¬ 
mitted to the legislature, (2) for submitting laws 
directly to the voters, and (3) for referring any 
law passed by the legislature to the people at the 
polls. 

To initiate a law, the proposed measure is sub¬ 
mitted to the attorney general to formulate its 
title and make a brief summary of the law. This 
title and summary are then printed on petitions 


64 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


to be signed by the voters. The law carefully 
provides how the signing is to be done, and pro¬ 
vides a penalty for wrongful acts in connection 
therewith. If ten per cent of the number of 
voters who voted for governor at the last election 
sign the petition, the law must be submitted to 
the people or the legislature as the case may be. 
In the case of the referendum, if six per cent of 
the voters sign the petition the law is referred to 
the people. 

In the fall of 1914 nine measures were initiated, 
so far as signing the petitions went; but those 
who were opposed to allowing the people to pass 
judgment on measures succeeded in having the 
petitions for two. of the measures invalidated for 
irregularities of one kind or another. Many 
voters sign these measures to please a friend or 
to save bother, and the expense involved in check¬ 
ing and printing, measures on the ballot is heavy. 

Many of these thoughtless people went to the 
trouble of having their names counted off the 
petition after they had signed it. No form of 
government will work well unless the people use 
intelligence; least of all, a direct form of govern¬ 
ment. 

The law further provides for the printing and 


STATE GOVERNMENT 


65 


circulation of a pamphlet which contains all the 
measures to be voted on. Arguments for and 
against the measures are also printed therein. 
The printing of the laws is paid for by the state, 
but the advocates and opponents of the measures 
must pay for printing the arguments. In Oregon, 
where this plan originated, the voters in order to 
vote intelligently were expected to familiarize 
themselves with a pamphlet, in 1912, of 256 
pages. In Washington, where the first trial was 
made in 1914, a pamphlet of 62 pages was sent 
to the voters. The results of this election will be 
found in Appendix E. 

Recall. — Every elective officer in Washington 
(excepting judges of courts of record) is subject 
to recall and discharge at any time by the voters, 
on petition. Charges are filed against the officer 
who misconducts his office. These charges are 
printed on the petitions, and if a sufficient number 
of voters sign for his recall the question is sub¬ 
mitted to the voters. Petitions for the recall of 
officers of the state, cities of the first class, and 
counties of the first, second, and third classes, 
must be signed by twenty-five per cent of the 
voters. In the smaller cities and counties thirty- 
five per cent of the voters must sign. When 


66 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


there are sufficient signers, an election is called 
and the voters indicate whether the officer is 
to be recalled or not. If he is recalled, his office 
is vacant and a new officer is installed, as in case 
of vacancy from other causes. 

The Legislature. — The legislature meets reg¬ 
ularly once every two years, and is limited by 
the constitution to sessions of not more than 
sixty days. The governor may call an extraor¬ 
dinary session at any time by a proclamation 
in which he states the purpose for which it is 
called. The regular session begins on the second 
Monday in January. Members must be citizens 
and voters in the district for which they are 
chosen. They are elected by popular vote. 
The representatives are chosen for two years; 
the senators for four, one-half going out of office 
every two years. Thus one-half the senators 
have had experience in the previous legislature. 

The provisions for organization, quorum, rules 
and procedure, and journal, have been copied 
from the national constitution (see pp. 217, 261). 

Bills may be proposed in either house. After 
being introduced, a bill is referred to the proper 
committee. The committee passes judgment on 
it, and returns the bill with a statement of its 


STATE GOVERNMENT 


67 


opinion. The house then acts. Many times 
the house does not go into the merits of the bill 
at all, but, after listening to the reading of the 
title of the bill, votes as the committee has de¬ 
cided. This is done to save time. Other bills 
are debated and amended by the house. The 
first vote is always taken by yeas and nays. The 
action on the bill in the other house follows the 
same plan. If it passes both houses, it is sent 
to the governor. If he vetoes it, it must repass 
each house with a majority of two-thirds in order 
to become a law. 

The Legislature has Power to — 

Lay and collect taxes; 

Give governments of cities, towns, and villages the 
power to make local improvements by special assess¬ 
ment ; 

Provide for a general uniform system of schools; 

Organize and discipline the state militia; 

Make provisions for the soldiers’ homes; 

Establish a uniform system of county government; 

Fix the salaries of all county officers; 

Provide for the incorporation and classification of 
all cities and towns; 

Make general laws for all cities and towns; 

Control the formation of general laws; 

Regulate railroad rates; 

Establish a railroad commission; 


68 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


Pass laws to prevent the formation of monopolies 
and trusts; 

Establish a harbor line commission; 

Lease sites for wharves and docks. 

Powers Denied to the State Government (see 

p. 247):— 

The legislature shall not pass any laws giving special 
privileges to any citizen or group of citizens which do 
not apply to all citizens and groups of citizens under 
similar conditions. 

No law shall give aliens who have not declared their 
intention to become citizens the right to own land. 
(See Appendix E.) 

No laws shall grant irrevocable franchises, privileges, 
or immunities. 

No public money shall be appropriated for any 
religious enterprise. 

The state may incur an indebtedness not to exceed 
$400,000 (except to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, 
or defend the state in war); but additional debts can 
be incurred only for specific purposes and with the 
consent of a majority of the voters at an election held 
for that purpose. 

The Executive Department. — There are nine 
executive officers, all of whom are elected for 
four yearn. They are the governor, lieutenant- 
governor, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, 
attorney general, superintendent of public in- 


STATE GOVERNMENT 


69 


struction, commissioner of public lands, and 
commissioner of insurance. Any voter may be 
elected to any of these offices. Very large bonds 
are required from people elected to some of these 
offices before they are permitted to enter upon 



Governor’s Mansion, Olympia 


their duties. The treasurer must give a bond for 
$250,000 and the auditor a bond for $50,000. 
The governor’s salary cannot be raised above 
$6000. The treasurer’s salary cannot exceed 
$4000; the auditor’s cannot exceed $3000. The 
highest limit for other salaries is one or the other 
of the last two. These salary limitations are 





70 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


fixed by the constitution of the state. The legis¬ 
lature of 1919 submitted for the approval of the 
voters a constitutional amendment which if 
adopted (1920) will increase the governor’s salary 
to $10,000, those of the secretary of state, treas¬ 
urer, auditor, and superintendent of public 
instruction to $5000, and that of the attorney 
general to $6000. The constitution also makes 
the state treasurer ineligible for the term succeed¬ 
ing that for which he was elected. 

Powers of the Governor : — 

He shall see that the laws are enforced. 

Pie has a veto on all legislation. 

He is commander-in-chief of the militia. 

He appoints the state boards and other officers with 
the consent of the senate. (See Appendix D.) 

He must send a message to the legislature at least 
once every session. 

He may call an extra session of the legislature by 
proclamation. 

He may grant pardons and remission of fines. 

He may require the opinions of state officers in 
writing. 

The most important boards are the board of 
Regents of the State University, the board of 
Regents of the State College, the board of Trustees 
for each of the normal schools, the Board of Con- 


STATE GOVERNMENT 


71 


trol, the Public Service Commission, the Industrial 
Insurance Commission, and the Industrial Welfare 
Commission. We shall consider the educational 
boards in connection with the school system. 

The Board of Control is appointed by the gov¬ 
ernor. It consists of three citizens appointed each 
for six years, the governor having the power to 
remove a member at any time if he wishes. This 
board has control of the three insane asylums 
located at Steilacoom, Medical Lake, and Sedro- 
Woolley, of the penitentiary at Walla Walla, of 
the reformatories at Chehalis, Monroe, and Grand 
Mound, of the school for the deaf and the school 
for the blind at Vancouver, of the school for 
defective youth at Medical Lake, and of the 
soldiers’ homes at Orting and Port Orchard. A 
superintendent for each of these institutions 
helps in the management. 

The Public Service Commission has under its 
supervision common carriers, gas, electric, water, 
telephone, and telegraph companies, and wharfin¬ 
gers and warehouse men. It has power to fix rates 
and service requirements for these public utilities, 
and it enforces the law which forbids discrimination. 

The Industrial Insurance Board administers 
the law which requires insurance for injured work- 


72 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


men. The insurance funds are paid into the fund 
by the employers, who are assessed on the amount 
of their payrolls and in proportion to the hazard 
of the occupation. 

The Industrial Welfare Commission was created 
to protect the lives, the health, and the morals of 
women and minors engaged in industry in the 
state. This board has fixed minimum wages 
below which women in certain industries cannot 
legally work. It also has the power to provide 
standard conditions for women and children 
workers. The commissioner of labor is a mem¬ 
ber of this board and it is part of his duty to en¬ 
force the eight-hour law which forbids women to 
work longer than an eight-hour day. 

Judiciary Department. — The judiciary power 
of the state is vested in a supreme court, superior 
court, and justices of the peace. All judges are 
elected by popular vote. The supreme court, 
which consists of nine members, sits at the capital 
and hears all cases appealed from the lower 
courts. The term of supreme judges is six years, 
three being elected every two years. Their 
salary is $7000 a year. 

Superior judges are elected every four years 
from judicial districts which are created by the 


STATE GOVERNMENT 


73 



legislature. The number of superior judges in 
these districts varies with the amount of legal 
business to be done. King county has nine 
superior judges, while, in some cases, two or more 
counties are joined in a single district with only 


Temple of Justice, Olympia 

one judge. The superior courts have original 
jurisdiction in all cases involving the ownership 
of property, cases in equity, criminal cases 
amounting to felony, proceedings in bankruptcy, 
and divorce. A justice of the peace has juris¬ 
diction in both civil and criminal cases of a minor 
nature. When crimes of a more serious nature 








74 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


are brought before him, he may make an in¬ 
vestigation and place the prisoner under bond, or 
commit him to jail to be tried by the superior court. 

Grand Jury. — Ordinarily, charges brought 
against persons for crimes committed are referred 
to the prosecuting attorney of the county, and 
he is authorized to bring the offenders to trial. 
He uses his judgment as to whether the charges 
are sufficient to warrant trial or not. In case 
the prosecuting attorney does not do his duty in 
this respect, a Grand Jury may be called by the 
judge or judges of the superior court of the county. 

A Grand Jury consists of not less than twelve 
nor more than seventeen citizens, selected by 
the county clerk from the jury list made up of 
voters who are taxpayers. 

The Grand Jury investigates all charges brought 
to its notice against persons accused of crime. 
It hears evidence against them, but not for them. 
If the evidence seems sufficient for believing the 
person guilty of crime, the Grand Jury then 
makes a written statement naming the person, 
describing his crime, and advising that he be 
brought to trial. This written statement is called 
a “ true bill.” If the Grand Jury believes no 
crime has been committed it must return “ not 


STATE GOVERNMENT 


75 


a true bill.” The weakness in the plan is in 
expecting the prosecuting attorney to vigorously 
prosecute after the action of the Grand Jury. If 
he was willing to let the criminal go before, he is 
likely to make a weak prosecution afterwards. 

Petit Jury. — A Petit Jury, or Trial Jury, 
consists of twelve citizens chosen by lot from 
the jury list. These twelve jurors sit in open 
court and hear the evidence in behalf of and 
against the defendant, together with the argu¬ 
ments of the attorneys on both sides. The judge 
then instructs the jury as to the law that applies 
in the case, and the manner in which the evidence 
should be weighed. The jury then retires and 
agrees upon a verdict. The judge sentences the 
prisoner to such punishment as the law requires. 
If the jury believes the defendant “ not guilty,” 
he is dismissed. In case the jury cannot agree 
upon a verdict the case is tried again before a 
new jury, or is dismissed if the prosecuting attor¬ 
ney feels that the evidence he has is not sufficient 
to convince a jury. 

Whenever in the opinion of the trial judge the 
case is likely to be a protracted one he may order 
the calling of one or two “ alternate jurors.” 
These jurors are called and qualified exactly as 


76 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


are the others and are treated as if a part of the 
regular jury. In case of the sickness or death 
of a regular juror an alternate is substituted. 
In case an “ alternate juror ” is not needed in 
arriving at the verdict he is dismissed upon the 
final submission of the case to the regular jurors. 

Questions 

1. Where is the legislative power lodged in Wash¬ 
ington ? 

2. Explain the initiative. How may laws be 
initiated ? 

3. Why is it advisable to refer laws to the voters ? 

4. How is the voter informed as to the merits of 
the measures submitted to him ? 

5. When and why is a recall of an officer advisable? 

6. Does the governor have any control over acts 
of the legislature? Of the laws submitted to the 
people and ratified by them? 

7. Name some of the important powers the legis¬ 
lature has. Name some powers' denied to the states. 

8. What are some of the important duties of the 
governor ? 

9. What is the work of the Board of Control? 
Of the Public Service Commission? Of the Industrial 
Insurance Board? Of the Industrial Welfare Com¬ 
mission? (Find, if you can, some of the things done 
by these boards in your community.) 

10. Give the three kinds of courts in Washington. 


CHAPTER XII 


COMMON SCHOOLS 

School Lands. — When the land of any terri¬ 
tory is surveyed, it is divided into townships. 
Each township is divided into thirty-six sections 
of six hundred and forty acres each; sections 
16 and 36 are set aside for the support of the 
common schools of the state. 

The state government may sell these lands, 
sell the timber on them, or lease them. When 
the lands are sold, or the timber or the minerals 
from them are sold, the money goes into a per¬ 
manent school fund. The United States Govern¬ 
ment also gives to this permanent school fund 
5 per cent of all the moneys received from the 
sale of government land in the state of Washing¬ 
ton. To this fund are added gifts from individ¬ 
uals, property which is forfeited to the state, 
and all money in the state treasury which has not 
been appropriated for any other purpose. 

This permanent school fund cannot be spent 
or reduced, but is invested. The interest realized 
77 


78 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


from the investment, the moneys received from the 
lease or other use of unsold school lands, and the 
state school tax, form a current school fund for the 
maintenance of the common schools of the state. 
The permanent school fund on September 30, 
1918, amounted to $13,761,555. 

In many states east of our own, the school lands 
were sold early in order to get as large a permanent 
school fund as possible to begin with. We of 
the state of Washington have retained more than 
four-fifths of ours unsold. The later the school 
lands are sold, the larger the permanent school 
fund will be. After they are once sold, the 
permanent fund does not become much larger. 
The constant increase of population then means 
that the extra money needed for the schools must 
be raised by taxation. 

In Washington the schools are now partly sup¬ 
ported by taxation, but we have the hope that 
the taxes for this purpose need not always in¬ 
crease, but may rather decrease, through the 
profitable employment of the school lands which 
we have retained. 

The taxes which go to help support the schools 
come from several sources: state taxes, county 
taxes, and district taxes. The total amount of 


COMMON SCHOOLS 


79 


money spent on public education for the year 
1918 was over $16,000,000. 

School Districts. — The counties have been 
divided into school districts to suit the needs of 
the population for schools. The men and women 
who can qualify as voters in a district manage 
the schools there. They elect a board of school 
directors, who build schools and furnish them, 
hire teachers and other people needed to do the 
work of the school, decide how many days of 
school there shall be each year in addition to the 
six months of school which the state law compels 
all districts to maintain; and, in some districts, 
they buy the text-books for the children. School 
directors receive no salary. 

If the directors find that they need more money 
than they receive from the state, county, and 
district taxes, they ask the people to vote on 
raising bonds for the district. Bonds are really 
mortgages on the district, and this means the 
district borrows a certain sum of money which it 
must repay in the future with interest. If a 
district bonds itself too heavily its credit is im¬ 
paired just as is the credit of an individual who 
assumes too many debts for his property. School 
districts are forbidden by the Constitution to 


80 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


incur an indebtedness exceeding one and one-half 
per cent of the taxable property of the district, 
except upon the assenting vote of three-fifths 
of the voters, and then the limit is made five 
per cent of the value of the taxable property. 

County and State Superintendence. — The 
county and state not only help to support the 
schools of each district, but, through the superin¬ 
tendents, they exercise a constant and helpful 
supervision over them. The state superintendent 
recommends needful legislation to the legislature, 
guards the school lands and property, enforces 
the uniform course of study, calls conventions 
of the county superintendents to discuss with 
them their problems, and attends teachers’ as¬ 
sociations and institutes to instruct and inspire 
them in their work. Investigations and experi¬ 
ments are made to test suggested improvements 
and the results are printed and distributed through 
the schools. Problems in manual training, school- 
house building and ventilation, school consolida¬ 
tion and grading, — all these and many similar 
and equally difficult problems fall within the 
range of the state superintendent’s field. He is 
concerned with everything that makes for better 
schools and better teachers. 


COMMON SCHOOL 


81 


The county superintendents, one for each 
county, have in general the same relations to the 
schools as the state superintendent, except each 
confines himself to the schools of his own county. 
Both lands of superintendents are usually selected 
because they have had extensive experience in 
school work. The state superintendent is elected 
for four years; the county superintendent is at 
present elected for two years, but after November, 
1922, his term will be four years. 

The State Board of Education. — This Board 
is made up of the superintendent of public instruc¬ 
tion, the president of the University of Washing¬ 
ton, the president of the State College, the prin¬ 
cipal of one of the normal schools, and three 
persons who hold life diplomas and are employed 
in the schools of the state. The last three are 
appointed by the governor. One must be a 
superintendent in a district of the first class, one 
a county superintendent, and one a principal of 
a four-years’ high school. 

. The County Superintendent. — This superin¬ 
tendent visits the schools of the county to see that 
the regulations of the state board in regard to the 
course of study are enforced, and that no teacher 
is employed who does not have a county or state 


82 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


certificate. He receives from the state board 
lists of questions for the examination of those 
teachers who do not have state certificates. The 
examinations are held under his directions three 
times a year, those attaining certain results in 
the examination being given a certificate good for 
a specified time. He also holds a county institute 
one week in each year for all the teachers in the 
county. The larger cities have the right to hold a 
separate institute, and in that case the city teach¬ 
ers do not attend the county institute. Teachers 
are required by law to attend the institutes. 

The office of the county superintendent is 
usually in the county courthouse. Here he re¬ 
ceives reports from all the teachers in the county 
on the number of days’ attendance of all children. 
The state superintendent divides the current 
school fund among the counties, two-thirds of it 
in proportion to the days’ attendance reported 
from each county, and one-third of it in proportion 
to the number of teachers employed by the district. 
The money is sent in each case to the county 
treasurer. The county superintendent adds the 
school money on hand from county taxes, and 
divides the total among the schools of the county 
in proportion to their attendance. 


COMMON SCHOOLS 


83 


Text-books. — It is only within the last cen¬ 
tury that books have become cheap enough for 
every one to have them. Before that time children 
received most of their instruction orally from their 
teachers and very little from text-books. Now¬ 
adays so much depends on text-books, that it is 
just as important to have good books as good 
teachers. In districts that have a four-year 
accredited high school, text-books are selected 
by a district text-book commission which is made 
up of the city superintendent, two members of 
the board of directors, and two city teachers. 
The books for all districts that do not have a four- 
year high school are selected by the county board 
of education. The county board is made up of 
the county superintendent and four persons 
whom he appoints. 

Education Compulsory. — Not only does the 
state provide its children with free schools, but 
it compels them to attend school. Sometimes 
children might not take advantage of their op¬ 
portunity to obtain an education because they, 
or their parents, might not realize how important 
education is in making citizens able to care for 
themselves and their state. Sometimes parents 
are tempted to put their children to work, instead 


84 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


of sending them to school. Our state laws pro¬ 
vide that children between the ages of eight and 
fifteen (between the eighth and fifteenth birthdays) 
must attend school when school is in session in 
the district in which they live, except those chil¬ 
dren who are excused by the city or county super¬ 
intendents because they are physically or mentally 
unfit for school, or because they have completed 
the eight grades of the common schools. Only 
children who are excused in this way are permitted 
by law to work for wages while school is in session. 
Children between fifteen and sixteen years of 
age are also required to attend school unless they 
are regularly and lawfully engaged in some useful 
and remunerative occupation. 

Questions 

1. Where did we get our school lands? Our 
permanent school funds ? 

2. How much does your father pay for the main¬ 
tenance of schools? 

3. Who are the directors in your district? 

4. What are the duties of the county superintendent 
of schools? 

5. Where is the money of your school district kept? 

6. What advantages can you think of in favor of 
uniform text-books ? What disadvantages ? 


CHAPTER XIII 


HIGHER SCHOOLS 

Normal Schools. — The higher the civilization 
of a people, the more education its youth must 
receive before they are ready to begin life for 
themselves. In a civilization as high as ours, 
teachers must prepare for teaching very carefully, 
or they will not be able to give the children all 
they will need for life, in the few years they are 
in school. An examination is one way of finding 
whether teachers are well prepared, but a better 
way is to provide the proper training. Our 
normal schools were established to give young 
men and women an opportunity to train them¬ 
selves for teaching. 

Congress granted the state of Washington one 
hundred thousand acres for normal schools. The 
state has already established four such schools, 
at Bellingham and at Centralia (1919) in western 
Washington, at Ellensburg in the center of the 
85 




* 


State Normal School, Bellingham State Normal School, Ellensburg 





















HIGHER SCHOOLS 


87 


state, and at Cheyney in eastern Washington. 
The legislature appropriates money at every 
session for the maintenance of these schools. In 
1919-1921 it appropriated over a million dollars for 
this purpose. 

Any boy over sixteen, or girl over fifteen years 
of age, may attend a normal school after gradua¬ 
tion from a graded school, or if able to pass an 
examination showing ability to do the work. A 
normal school diploma is, when countersigned 
by the state superintendent, a certificate to teach. 

College and University. — Higher education 
has become free for boys and girls within the last 
half century. Our state supports two institutions 
of higher learning, — the State College at Pullman 
and the State University at Seattle. A state 
high-school inspector visits the high schools of 
the state and those which he finds doing four 
years of satisfactory work, he puts on a list of 
accredited schools. Any student who has com¬ 
pleted the work of one of these accredited schools 
may enter the college or the university without 
examination. Any student who does not come 
from an accredited school may enter by passing 
an examination in the subjects which are required 
for graduation from accredited high schools. 



State College, Pullman 








HIGHER SCHOOLS 


89 


All persons over twenty-one years of age may 
enter a college or university for special work in 
any subjects if they can show that they are able 
to study these subjects intelligently. These 
special students do not receive a degree, but are 
given all the other advantages of instruction in 
these schools. 

State University. — The campus of the State 
University at Seattle is one of the most beautiful 
college grounds in the world. There are three 
hundred and fifty-five acres, all within tfie city 
limits of Seattle. It has a shore line of one mile 
on Lake Washington, and of about a quarter-mile 
on Lake Union. This gives the students an 
opportunity for all forms of aquatic sports. 
Many great trees from the original forests are 
preserved on the grounds. One part of the 
grounds was used for the Alaska-Yukon Pacific 
Exposition, and many of the improvements added 
for the Exposition have been retained. 

The University is managed by a board of re¬ 
gents, seven in number, who are appointed by 
the governor for six years. They serve without 
salary and have full control of the property of 
the University. They hire a president and pro¬ 
fessors, prescribe a course of study, and give 


90 


GOVERNMENT OF -WASHINGTON 


diplomas. They issue a catalogue every year in 
which full information about the University is 
given, and which is sent free to any one who writes 
to the Recorder of the University for it. 

The United States Government granted one 
hundred and forty-six thousand acres of land 
to the University. The most valuable land the 
University has is the old University site, — ten 
acres in the heart of Seattle. This has been leased 
for a number of years, and will soon be covered 
with gteat office and hotel buildings. When the 
lease expires, these buildings will belong to the 
University. The state legislature provides a 
sum of money at every session for the annual 
expenses of the University. In 1919-1921 the 
appropriation was $2,500,000. 

State College. — The State College includes 
the Agricultural School, the Experiment Station, 
and the School of Science. It is located at Pull¬ 
man, in the midst of one of the richest and most 
valuable agricultural districts in the world. The 
generous support given it by the state and nation 
makes it a center where the young people of the 
state can learn scientific and practical methods of 
developing their rich inheritance while, at the same 
time, they are receiving a liberal college education. 


HIGHER SCHOOLS 


91 


The State College has a board of five regents 
appointed in the same way, and for the same term, 
as are those of the State University. Their 
powers and duties cover the same field. The 
catalogue of the State College will be sent to any 
one on request. 

The State College has received one hundred 
and ninety thousand acres for its support from 
the government. Most of these lands, like those 
of the grant for the State University, remain 
unsold. The land is constantly increasing in 
value and, if wisely managed, will be a greater 
endowment in the end than are the millions 
which are given Eastern colleges by wealthy 
men. The state legislature granted the State 
College $1,500,000 for expenses for 1919-1921. 
In addition to this, the United States Government 
aids through the Morrill, Adams, Hatch and Smith- 
Lever funds to the amount of over $100,000 a year. 

Extension Work. The inability of a large 
number of people to leave home to obtain the 
benefits of higher education has led both the 
University and the State College to provide 
extension work. Instruction is offered by cor¬ 
respondence to students who wish to study at 
home; lectures are given on a variety of subjects 


92 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


wherever they are called for; expert advice is 
given on trees, plants, animals, sewage systems, 
city charters, or on any other subject about which 
information can be obtained. The State College, 
in addition, maintains experiment stations at 
Pullman and Puyallup, and demonstration farms 
in a number of places. 

Expert investigations are made that range all 
the way from killing pests to clearing land, and 
the results are made known to the people in lec¬ 
tures, pamphlets, or by demonstration trains that 
travel over the state. The idea back of exten¬ 
sion work is to make the higher educational in¬ 
stitutions available for all, whether they can 
attend these schools or not. 

Questions 

1. What is the purpose of a normal school? 

2. How does the purpose of the normal school 
differ from that of the college ^nd university? 

3. Why do so few students go to college? 

4. Does a farmer need a “higher education”? 
Why? 

5. Does education “spoil a boy for work” ? 


CHAPTER XIV 


COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT 1 

Democracy. — In one sense the great World 
War was a conflict between two systems of govern¬ 
ment. In our country we are already familiar 
with one of them, namely, democracy. In the 
United States we know that form of government 
in which we all take part — we vote, we sign 
petitions to name men for public offices, we talk 
politics, we try to persuade our friends to adopt 
our views on political matters, we write our 
opinions on political matters to members of 

1 To the teacher i The World War has brought home to 
many of us the importance of knowing something of the political 
institutions, ideals, and practices of other peoples. Many 
students also wish to understand in what way this gigantic 
struggle between two great schemes of government was at bottom 
a conflict between democracy and autocracy. 

With these ends in view, there have been here included brief 
accounts of the governments of Great Britain, France, and 
Germany. These sketches have been made as simple in language 
as possible, but may still have to be made clearer by the teacher. 

Additional reading may be found in convenient form in 
National Governments and the World War by Ogg and Beard 
(Macmillan). For more recent developments it is advisable 
to consult the Statesman’s Yearbook, and other yearbooks. 

93 


94 GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 

Congress or of the legislature — or we even tele¬ 
graph to them to induce them to vote as we wish, 
and in many other ways we try to make our 
influence felt in the government. 

We are the government. Our government — 
in city, state, or the United States — is what we 
make it. Such a government, “ of the people, 
for the people, and by the people,” is called a 
democracy. Democracy is self-government. 
The basis of democracy is, in Lincoln’s statement, 
that “ no man is good enough to govern any other 
man without that other man’s consent.” 

Autocracy. — In striking contrast with de¬ 
mocracy is the sort of government we remember 
as having existed in Russia and Germany. Here 
one man (frequently controlled by a small group 
of selfish men) exercises power over the whole 
country and millions of subjects. We may call 
him czar, kaiser, or emperor — as we please. 
He rules. He does not always derive his powers 
“ from the consent of the governed.” He has 
an army, police, secret agents; also courts that 
punish for opposition to his will. Such a govern¬ 
ment is called an autocracy. It is an autocratic 
government. 

Leading countries in the World War were 


COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT 


95 


Russia, Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Great 
Britain, and the United States. They divided into 
two groups — the autocratic and the democratic. 

Earlier in this book we studied the governments 
of our country and our state. We are now to 
learn something about the governments of Great 
Britain, France, and Germany. 

GREAT BRITAIN 

Great Britain — or England, as we sometimes 
call it — has advanced farther from autocracy 
toward ideal democracy than any other Old- 
World nation or country. Besides, it is the 
pioneer in self-government. Read the first eight 
Amendments to the Constitution of the United 
States. All the safeguards to liberty in them we 
inherited from England. Our United States 
Constitution is based on principles employed by 
England in managing the Colonies before the 
Revolutionary War. 

The King. —Formerly the king of England 
had the usual royal powers. Now he has no 
important share in the government. Parliament 
has taken away his powers and exercises them in 
his place. Why do the English have a king if 
he is of no use to them? As they have no fear 


96 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


of their king or his power, they find many uses 
for him in social ways. If he is inclined to lend 
himself gracefully to his social duties, he becomes 
quite popular. He is also an essential part of 
the government in the performance of certain 
duties about which he has no choice but which 
no one else could conveniently perform. Some 
of these will be mentioned later in the account 
of Cabinets. 

Parliament. — The British Parliament is like 
our Congress or the legislature of a state. It is 
composed of the House of Lords and the House 
of Commons. 

The House of Lords. — The House of Lords 
may be compared to the American senate, though 
there are many important differences between 
them. With us a senate is a small, select body. 
The House of Lords contains 640 members and is 
nearly as large as the House of Commons. Its 
members are not elected, as our senators are, 
but inherit their seats or secure them by appoint¬ 
ment. Membership is for life. Its power is 
less than that of the House of Commons, while 
in the United States the powers of the senate and 
of the lower house are quite generally regarded 
as equal. 


COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT 


97 


The House of Commons. — The other branch 
of Parliament, the House of Commons, has 707 
members elected from districts, as with us. It 
represents the people. Its great power and 
importance come from its control of the govern¬ 
ment’s income. It lays the taxes and decides 
how the money shall be spent. Its work can be 
better understood in connection with the Cabinet. 

The Cabinet. — In the government of the 
United States we have a cabinet. It consists of 
men whom the president has asked to help him in 
performing the heavy duties of his office. No 
man in the presidential office would have time 
or strength to look after army, navy, post-office, 
and the great number of other matters which the 
executive must attend to. He is allowed to ask 
men of his own choosing to join his official family 
and help in the duties of his department. So the 
governor of a state has in his department a group 
of assistants. But in most states these officials 
are chosen at the polls by the voters and are not 
necessarily the governor’s own choice. For this 
reason they are not truly a cabinet. 

In England when a party has won an election, 
the campaign has made it perfectly clear who is 
the real leader of the victorious party. The 


98 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


House of Commons is now made up of members 
committed to pass certain laws which the voters 
have favored by their choice of members. Here 
is where the king has some work to do. Under 
the rules of the game as it is played in England 
the king must ask the leader of the winning party 
to take charge of the government — that is, to 
“ form a cabinet.” If the party leader accepts 
— and he generally does — he is then known as 
the prime minister or premier. He may choose 
for himself any department; for example, treas¬ 
ury, navy, or war. 

When the prime minister has been appointed, 
the king is no longer necessary in the work of 
government — at least until another premier is to 
be named. 

The Ministry. — There are about forty heads 
of departments in the English government. 
They are called ministers. Perhaps a clearer 
name is cabinet ministers. They are selected 
by the prime minister, just as in our government 
cabinet officers are selected by the president. 
The prime minister is the head of the cabinet and 
includes in the cabinet as many or as few of the 
ministers as he chooses. 

It is the business of the prime minister and the 


COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT 


99 


more important members of his cabinet to attend 
sessions of the House of Commons, introduce 
bills, answer questions, take part in debates, and 
in other ways try to secure the passage of the bills. 

All members of the cabinet must be members 
of one or the other house of Parliament. If the 
prime minister asks into his cabinet a man who 
is not a member of Parliament and this non¬ 
member wishes to accept the invitation, he 
cannot qualify without being elected or other¬ 
wise chosen a member of one house or the other. 
Generally there are districts without representa¬ 
tion in the House of Commons. The prospective 
cabinet member goes to one of these districts 
and offers himself for election. Under the Eng¬ 
lish system such a candidate is usually elected. 
The voters understand. 

At an election in England the two parties place 
before the voter two programs of lawmaking for 
his approval. He will look at the programs and 
will decide that one of them suits him better than 
the other. After the election one party will have 
a majority in the House of Commons. The 
ministry — and of course the cabinet — will be 
of this party. 

Here the English system differs from ours. 


100 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


The cabinet in England make their headquarters 
in the House of Commons and try to secure the 
passage of measures which they promised before 
election. The cabinet, the executive department, 
is a part of the legislative. In our government, 
the separation between the two departments is 
carefully observed. The president and his cabinet 
remain away from Congress. 

The House of Commons will either pass a bill 
proposed by a prime minister or will vote it down. 
In this latter case the House has discovered some 
change in popular feeling about the bill. Let 
us say that the voters are now opposed to it though 
they favored it on election day. The cabinet 
may resign in a body and allow the opposing party 
— now the majority — to form a new cabinet. 

Perhaps the cabinet is not convinced that the 
vote in the House against its bill represents the 
opinion of the people. In that case the prime 
minister asks the king to dissolve the parliament, 
and the monarch obediently does so. The mem¬ 
bers of the House of Commons go back to their 
districts and offer themselves for reelection on the 
old platform. Opposed to them are candidates 
who represent the changed public opinion. If 
a majority of the voters favor the program of the 


COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT 


101 


old cabinet, the old cabinet will have a majority 
in the new House and will be able to carry its 
measures. But if a majority opposed to the 
program of the old cabinet is returned, then that 
cabinet will not be able to pass any bills and its 
usefulness is at an end. It must resign imme¬ 
diately and make way for a cabinet headed by the 
leader of the opposition. There is no marking 
time till the end of the “ term.” 

Parties. — We notice that political parties 
have everything to do with the overthrow of a 
cabinet. We notice that parties in England 
change front more readily than here. Parties 
there divide on new questions as they come up. 
With us that is not the case. Who can say what 
the Republican or Democratic Party really stands 
for? Which party favors Woman Suffrage or 
Prohibition? In England the opponents of a 
new issue are always in one party. 

Voters. — Every male subject in Great Britain 
who is twenty-one years of age and a resident of 
the voting district for six months previous to the 
election may vote for a member of the House 
of Commons. Persons owning a certain amount 
of property in another voting district may have 
a vote in that district also. This is known as 


102 GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


plural voting. Also all holders of degrees from 
universities may have a plural vote for members 
of the House who represent the universities. 
Women who are over thirty years of age and 
who occupy a home or land of a certain value 
may vote. 

The Courts. — The British system of courts is 
much more complicated than that of the United 
States. This is due in part to the fact that 
England has no written constitution as we have, 
though there are many documents — Magna 
Charta, the Bill of Rights, etc. — which have the 
force of a constitution; but also because the 
English courts make greater use of the customary 
practices, or Common Law, of the past. Not¬ 
withstanding the use of an old-fashioned system, 
British justice is noted the world over for its 
fairness, promptness, and sureness. 

Local Government. — Cities. — Local govern¬ 
ment in England is very different from that in the 
United States. In the first place our government 
is federal in form; that is, it is made up of states 
each in its own sphere independent of all others. 
There is a distribution of power between the federal 
government and the states. In England the 
government is centralized and all authority is 


COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT 


103 


vested in Parliament, and most of the affairs 
managed in this country by the state governments 
are in England regulated by Parliament. English 
local government can be roughly divided into 
city and county government. The word city in 
England formerly meant a town which was the 
residence of a bishop of the Established Church, 
and borough is the term usually applied to all 
other towns and cities. We shall speak of them 
all as cities. Cities in England are divided into 
three classes according to size and powers of self- 
government. In the smaller ones they have 
limited powers and are under the supervision of 
the county government. In the larger ones they 
have the fullest powers of self-government, and 
these are sometimes called county-boroughs be¬ 
cause they have the powers usually exercised by 
the county over the smaller cities in addition to 
their powers as cities. Cities are governed by a 
council made up of two classes of members — 
councilmen and aldermen, who form one body. 
Councilmen are elected by the voters for three 
years, and they need not live in the ward from 
which they are elected. The number of council- 
men varies from nine in the smaller cities to over 
a hundred in the larger cities. The number of 


104 GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


aldermen in a city is one-third as many as the 
councilmen, and they are chosen for six years by 
the council. If a councilman is elected alderman, a 
new councilman is elected by the voters to fill the 
vacancy. None of the members receive a salary. 
The council elects one of its members to be mayor. 
He has no executive authority and continues to 
be a member of the council as before, but he is the 
representative of the council on ceremonial occa¬ 
sions and may receive a small salary which rarely 
meets the expenses of the office. The office is 
esteemed an honor, and usually some one is selected 
as mayor who can afford to represent the city 
in return for the honor conferred. 

County Government. — There is nothing in 
the government of the United States like the 
English county. It is the largest self-governing 
division in England, just as our states are the 
largest self-governing bodies below the federal 
government. County governments in England 
are recent creations of Parliament and can at any 
time be remodeled or destroyed by Parliament, 
while our states are the framework on which the 
national government is built. The government 
of the county consists of a county council made 
up of councilmen and aldermen. The councilmen 


COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT 105 

are elected by the voters from the wards in the 
county. Every ward in the county elects a 
member, except those in county-boroughs, which 
as explained in the previous section, exercise 
county-government powers. The county council- 
men elect a number of county aldermen equal 
to one-third the number of councilmen. The 
aldermen are selected without any reference to 
the wards in which they live, and councilmen may 
be elected aldermen just as in the cities. The 
councilmen serve for three years, the aldermen 
for six years. It would be a mistake to consider 
an English county council as similar to an Ameri¬ 
can state legislature. Its powers and duties 
are derived from acts of Parliament, and it has 
general supervision of county affairs, including 
the raising, borrowing, and expenditure of money; 
the care of county property, buildings, asylums, 
reformatories; the appointment of inferior ad¬ 
ministrative officers; care of highways and 
bridges; and the supervision of the work of the 
district and borough councils. Justices of the 
peace, appointed by the Lord Chancellor of 
England, administer the criminal law and issue 
liquor licenses. The county police are controlled 
by a joint committee of justices of the peace and 


106 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


members of the county council. In a general 
way the duties of the city councils correspond 
to those of the county councils. Political parties 
have little or nothing to do with local elections. 
Members of the councils are chosen to administer 
the public business without regard to the issues 
that are involved in the election of members of 
Parliament. As a result local government is 
efficiently done and political issues are settled 
on their merits as the voter sees them. The two 
kinds of government are not muddled together. 

FRANCE 

The national government of France is a modi¬ 
fied cabinet form. France has a cabinet and a 
prime minister as England has, but has no king. 
Instead it has a president, but the president is 
quite different from ours in power and duties. 
The form of the French government is definitely 
fixed by a written constitution, instead of being 
merely established custom as in England; and 
again it is different from that of the United States 
in that it provides merely a skeleton structure 
that leaves the executive and legislative branches 
a free hand, while our system is more complex 
because it calls repeatedly for judicial interpret a- 


COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT 


107 


tion; that is, courts are called upon to decide 
whether many measures are constitutional or not. 

The Senate. — The Senate consists of 300 mem¬ 
bers, 225 of whom are chosen by electoral colleges 
in the departments of France. 1 A department is 
much like a small state. There are eighty-six of 
them. The other senators were originally life sen¬ 
ators, but now as vacancies occur they are filled 
by the electoral colleges of the departments. The 
term of a senator is nine years, one-third going out 
every third year. The legislative powers of the 
Senate are not equal to those of the lower house 
except in matters of finance, and even here there 
is dispute about the Senate’s power to raise 
taxes. The president cannot dissolve the lower 
house without the consent of the Senate. This 
power is a check on the president. 

The Chamber of Deputies. — The Chamber 
of Deputies (which is like a house of representa¬ 
tives) consists of 602 members, of whom ten 

1 Senators chosen in each department of France by an electoral 
college composed of the deputies, of the members of the general 
council, of the members of the councils of the arrondissements, 
and of delegates chosen by the municipal councils of the com¬ 
munes of towns. Before 1884 each commune elected only one 
delegate, but by the law of that year the number of delegates 
increases with the size of the communes, though much less than 
in proportion to the population. 


108 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


are from the colonies, six from Algiers, and the 
rest from France. Deputies hold office for four 
years unless the president dissolves the Chamber 
before the expiration of the term. They are 
elected by universal manhood suffrage and by 
secret ballot. 

The Cabinet. — The president appoints the 
cabinet, with a prime minister at its head. The 
cabinet directs the government as long as it keeps 
the confidence of a majority of the Chamber of 
Deputies. Cabinet members are usually selected 
from parliament and may speak in either house. 
The cabinet system, to be successful, will have the 
support of a majority only so long as its adminis¬ 
tration and legislation command the approval of 
that majority. This is not difficult in a country 
where there are only two dominant parties. In 
France there are usually about a dozen parties. 
To get a majority for a cabinet it is necessary to 
combine several of these parties, which is often 
difficult. Sometimes one party withdraws its 
support and the cabinet falls. The average life 
of a cabinet is less than a year. The system has 
not been altogether satisfactory in France. 

The President. — The president of the French 
Republic is elected by the National Assembly, 


COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT 


109 


which is another name for the Parliament. The 
two houses of Parliament meeting together make 
up the. National Assembly. This body may also 
amend the constitution. The term of the presi¬ 
dent is seven years. In position he is more like 
the English king than the President of the United 
States. He has no veto power, but may send 
laws back to the Parliament for further considera¬ 
tion. His duties require him to execute the laws, 
and he appoints a large number of officials. All 
his acts must be countersigned by a member of the 
cabinet; and, in practice, the minister who signs 
is held responsible. The president is independent 
of the cabinet. The fall of a cabinet does not 
cause him to lose his office. He lives like a mon¬ 
arch ; and, like the king of England, is the repre¬ 
sentative of the nation in social and ceremonial 
affairs. 

The Judiciary. — The administration of the 
central government of France extends to the 
minutest details of local government, so there is 
little conflict of powers requiring judicial settle¬ 
ment. There are two sets of courts, administra¬ 
tive and ordinary law courts, both subordinate 
to the government. The administrative courts 
hear complaints against public officers and assist 


110 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


in the administration of the law. The amplifica¬ 
tion, explanation, and modification of statute law 
belong to the executive department of the central 
government, not to the courts of France. 

Local Government. — For the purposes of local 
government France is divided into departments, 
arrondissements, cantons, and communes. The 
departments, of which there are eighty-six, have 
areas of from 2000 to 3000 square miles — some¬ 
what larger than most of the counties in the state 
of Washington. At the head of the department 
is the prefect, appointed nominally by the presi¬ 
dent but actually by the Minister of the Interior. 
He enforces the laws, appoints officials, and reports 
to the central government regarding the affairs 
of the department. He is assisted by an advisory 
council appointed by the president. There is 
also a general council, elected by the voters of the 
department, which administers highways, schools, 
canals, asylums, etc. The council meets but 
twice a year and is represented between meetings 
by a commission of its members. 

Arrondissements, of which there are 362, are 
subdivisions of the department and are admin¬ 
istered by a sub-prefect and an elective council. 
A canton is a subdivision of an arrondissement. 


COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT 


111 


The Commune. — The commune is the smallest 
unit of local government and is a division of the 
canton. There are over 36,000 communes. They 
vary greatly in size. Their population ranges 
from 500 to 20,000. The local affairs of a com¬ 
mune are in charge of a municipal council. The 
ohief executive officer is a mayor elected by the 
council from its own members. The mayor is 
also the direct agent of the central government 
and is under the orders of the prefect. The 
powers of the commune are limited closely by the 
government of the department. It controls the 
property of the commune, is in charge of the parks, 
fire protection, and other purely local services. 
The commune also makes known the wants of 
the community, and its recommendations to this 
end are forwarded to the central government. 
Local self-government, as we understand it, does 
not prevail to a great degree in France. Even 
more than in England the central government is 
supreme, but the central government itself is 
responsible to the people, and local public opinion 
makes itself felt through the national administra¬ 
tion. 


112 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


GERMANY 

In order that students may have some idea as 
to just why the recent World War was called a 
war between democracy and autocracy, a very 
brief sketch of the German Imperial Government 
is included. Students should keep firmly in 
mind that this description is of the Germany of 
1914. Since the close of the war very radical 
changes have been made in the government of 
that country, and the next few years will probably 
see still greater changes. What is said of the 
government of Germany, then, applies only to 
the government as it existed at the opening of the 
war. 

The German government is a federation made 
up of 25 states and 3 city-republics. These 
states are not of equal weight and power. Prussia 
contains nearly two-thirds of the total population 
and therefore dominates the whole empire. The 
king of Prussia is always the Emperor and in the 
Reichstag (representative house of the legislature) 
has 236 out of 397 members. The principal 
governing body in the legislature is the Bundesrat 
(Senate or Council) which is, in reality, a diplo¬ 
matic body rather than a senate in the ordinary 


COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT 


113 


sense. There are 61 members of this body 
appointed by the rulers of the various states and 
removable by them. The state they represent 
pays them and instructs them how to vote, and 
all the delegates from a state vote the same way, 
according to instructions. In fact it does not 
matter whether all the delegates are there or not, 
the vote of the state is all cast without reference 
to the number of delegates present. The delegates 
are usually officers of the state they represent, 
and the state dictates their vote. In reality the 
Bundesrat is an assembly of sovereigns not 
actually present but represented by deputies. 
Proposed amendments to the constitution fail 
if 14 votes in the Bundesrat are cast against them, 
and since Prussia has 17 votes, she has an absolute 
veto on amendments. In addition to the 17 
votes which Prussia has by the constitution, she 
controls 3 more by purchase from Waldeck and 
the 2 votes from Brunswick which has a Prussian 
Prince as perpetual regent. Prussia also has an 
absolute veto on all changes in the army, the navy, 
and on tax measures, and since the Kaiser is 
head of the army and navy he has through his 
representation in the Bundesrat an absolute veto 
on any of these changes. Members of the Reichs- 


114 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


tag are elected by manhood suffrage for a term 
of five years and by a secret ballot, but the value 
of this house is small indeed. Moreover, the 
representation in the house is very unfair, as no 
new apportionment has been made since 1871. 
One of the districts in Berlin has a population of 
697,000 and elects a single representative, while 
Waldeck has only 59,000 people and also elects one. 

The Chancellor. — Germany has no cabinet. 
The Chancellor is the only minister and he is 
appointed by and entirely responsible to the 
Kaiser. As a representative of Prussia he is a 
member of the Bundesrat,,and as a member of the 
Bundesrat he has the right to speak in the Reichs¬ 
tag as have all the other members of the Bun¬ 
desrat. The Kaiser then through his Chancellor 
dominates the Bundesrat and through his power 
to check all adverse legislation practically controls 
Germany. The Reichstag serves principally as 
a forum, and an unfairly apportioned one at that, 
for the expression of opinion by representatives 
of the people. The large numbers of political 
parties in Germany, as in France, tends to divide 
the people and make their protests ineffective. 
The courts are entirely under the control of the 
Kaiser and the Bundesrat, who thus combine the 


COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT 


115 


legislative, executive, and judicial powers. In 
practice the German government is almost an 
absolute autocracy. Under a good 'autocrat of 
course much good may be accomplished and an 
equally great amount of bad under a bad autocrat, 
but there is little or no chance to develop a self- 
governing people. 

THE PRESENT GERMAN GOVERNMENT 

With the flight of the German Emperor in the 
fall of 1918 the German Empire collapsed. On 
Jan. 19, 1919, a convention met in Weimar to 
form a constitution and establish a new govern¬ 
ment. They held 85 sessions and produced a 
constitution which went into effect Aug. 13. 
President Ebert took the oath of office on Aug. 21. 

The constitution makes Germany a republic 
somewhat after the French model. It is a docu¬ 
ment of 181 articles and about 12,000 words. 
Every care is taken in it to preserve the rights of 
existing states such as Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, 
etc. It requires these states to establish a republi¬ 
can form of government. All voting at state and 
national elections must be “ universal, equal, 
direct, and secret.” “ All men and women over 
the age of twenty are allowed to vote.” 


116 GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


The Reichstag. — The house of representatives 
and the center of the governmental system is the 
Reichstag, which is the lawmaking body. Mem¬ 
bers serve four-year terms and are chosen under 
proportional representation . 1 

“ The President of the Republic shall be chosen 
by the whole German people.” His term is seven 
years. He may be reelected. To be valid his 
acts must be countersigned by some cabinet 
minister. He appoints and dismisses ministers. 

Cabinet. — The constitution creates a cabinet, 
provides for its meetings and the rules governing 
them, and prescribes the duties of its members. 

The Senate or National Council, like the Senate 
of the United States, represents the states rather 

1 To explain proportional representation, let us suppose that 
nine members or deputies are to be chosen at large (that is, not 
from districts) by a state. Each voter is supposed to mark his 
ballot to show his first choice, second choice, third choice, etc., 
from the long list of candidates. To be elected a candidate 
needs only a certain number of votes (determined by the ratio 
between the number of candidates and the number of votes cast). 
As soon as he has this number, he is considered elected. On 
subsequent ballots where his name appears as first choice, candi¬ 
date number two receives the count till he has the necessary 
number of votes to elect him. This continues till nine have been 
chosen. 

Under this plan various groups — such as farmers, laborers, 
business men, reform elements, professions, etc., get a representa¬ 
tion which they have heretofore never had. 


COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT 


117 


than the people. A state has only one vote no 
matter how many senators it has. The number 
of senators is based on a census to be taken soon. 
How many there will be we do not know. Cabinet 
ministers preside over the Senate and its com¬ 
mittees. Before the ministry can introduce its 
plan of legislation into the Reichstag, it must 
secure the Senate’s approval for the program. 
The Senate may veto an act of the Reichstag. 
A law may be passed over this veto by a two-thirds 
vote or by a favorable vote of the people at a 
referendum election. 

The Individual Citizen is safeguarded by a 
number of provisions such as are found in our 
state and national constitutions. 

The Social and Religious Life of citizens is the 
subject of liberal and enlightened legislation too 
detailed to be printed here. 

Finally, provision is made for education ancf 
schools, for the encouragement of commerce, for 
the protection of property and property rights, 
and for an elaborate program of social justice. 





APPENDIX A 


AREA AND POPULATION OF THE COUNTIES OF 
WASHINGTON FOR 1900, 1910, 1917 



Area 

IN 

Square 

Miles 

Date 

of 

Organi¬ 

zation 

1900 

Population 

1910 

Population 

1917 

Population 
(E stimated) 
July 1 

Adams . . . 

1,912 

1883 

4,840 

10,920 

15,359 

Asotin . . . 

606 

1883 

3,366 

5,831 

7,631 

Benton . . . 

1,671 

1905 


7,937 

11,806 

Chelan . . . 

2,900 

1889 

3,931 

15,104 

23,261 

Clallam . . . 

1,726 

1854 

5,603 

6,755 

7,595 

Clarke . . . 

634 

1844 

13,419 

26,115 

35,383 

Columbia . . 

858 

1875 

7,128 

7,042 


Cowlitz . . . 

1,153 

1854 

7,877 

12,561 

15,980 

Douglas . . 

1,787 

1883 

4,926 

9,227 

14,111 

Ferry . . . 

2,220 

1899 

4,562 

4,800 

4,974 

Franklin . . 

1,206 

1883 

486 

5,153 

8,559 

Garfield . . 

694 

1881 

3,918 

4,199 

4,403 

Grant . . . 

2,720 

1909 


8,698 

13,302 

Grays Harbor 

1,927 

1854 

15,124 

35,590 

50,530 

Island . . . 

208 

1853 

1,870 

4,704 

6,774 

Jefferson . . 

1,747 

1852 

5,712 

8,337 

10,253 

King . . . 

2,111 

1852 

110,053 

284,638 

412,077 

Kitsap . . . 

371 

1857 

6,767 

17,647 

25,589 

Kittitas . . 

2,329 

1883 

9,704 

18,561 

25,021 

Klickitat . . 

1,825 

1859 

6,407 

10,180 

15,143 

Lewis . . . 

2,369 

1845 

15,157 

32,127 

44,514 

Lincoln . . . 

2,302 

1883 

11,969 

17,539 

21,606 


119 















120 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


AREA AND POPULATION OF THE COUNTIES OF 
WASHINGTON FOR 1900, 1910, 1917 — Continued 



Area 

in 

Square 

Miles 

Date 

of 

Organi¬ 

zation 

1900 

Population 

1910 

Population 

1917 

Population 
(E stimated) 
July 1 

Mason . . . 

930 

1854 

3,810 

5,156 

6,137 

Okanogan . . 

5,221 

1888 

4,689 

12,887 

18,871 

Pacific . . . 

895 

1851 

5,983 

12,532 

17,312 

Pend Oreille . 

1,404 

1911 



7,655 

Pierce . . . 

1,701 

1852 

55,515 

120,812 

168,476 

San Juan . . 

178 

1873 

2,928 

3,603 

4,059 

Skagit . . . 

1,774 

1883 

14,272 

29,241 

40,168 

Skamania . . 

1,685 

1854 

1,688 

2,887 

3,761 

Snohomish. . 

2,064 

1861 

23,950 

59,209 

84,946 

Spokane . . 

1,756 

1858 

57,542 

139,404 

199,160 

Stevens . . . 

3,866 

1863 

10,543 

25,297 

28,412 

Thurston . . 

709 

1852 

9,927 

17,581 

23,168 

Wahkiakum . 

267 

1854 

2,819 

3,285 

3,625 

Walla Walla . 

1,215 

1854 

18,680 

31,931 

41,604 

Whatcom . . 

2,082 

1854 

24,116 

49,511 

68,048 

Whitman . . 

2,108 

1871 

25,360 

33,280 

39,062 

Yakima . . 

5,059 

1865 

13,462 

41,709 

62,043 













APPENDIX B 


CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS IN WASHINGTON 
District 

I. The city of Seattle and Kitsap County. 

II. The counties of Clallam, Jefferson, Snohomish, 

Skagit, Whatcom, San Juan, Island, and King 
(outside of Seattle). 

III. The counties of Grays Harbor, Mason, Thurston, 

Pierce, Pacific, Lewis, Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, 
Clarke, and Skamania. 

IV. The counties of Klickitat, Yakima, Benton, Kittitas, 

Whitman, Grant, Adams, Franklin, Walla Walla, 
Columbia, Garfield, Asotin. 

V. The counties of Ferry, Stevens, Lincoln, Spokane, 
Chelan, Okanogan, Douglas, and Pend Oreille. 


APPENDIX C 


Counties 

County Seat 

Senatorial 

Districts 

Representative 

Districts 

Adams 

Ritzville 

11 

15 

Asotin 

Asotin 

10 

9 

Benton . 

Prosser 

15 

58 

Chelan . . . 

Wenatchee 

13 

56 

Clallam . . . 

Port Angeles 

24 

34 

Clarke . . . 

Vancouver 

17 

23 

Columbia . . 

Dayton 

10 

11 

Cowlitz . . . 

Kalama 

18 

24 


121 











122 


GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


APPENDIX C — Continued 


Counties 

County Seat 

Senatorial 

Districts 

Representative 

Districts 

Douglas . . . 

Waterville 

1 

18 

Ferry .... 

Republic 

1 

55 

Franklin . . . 

Pasco 

11 

14 

Garfield . . . 

Pomeroy 

10 

10 

Grant .... 

Ephrata 

1 

59 

Grays Harbor . 

Montesano 

21 

29-30 

Island .... 

Coupeville 

23 

'50 

Jefferson . . . 

Port Townsend 

24 

33 

King .... 

Seattle 

30-37 

40-47 

Kitsap . . . 

Port Orchard 

23 

32 

Kittitas . . . 

Ellensburg 

13 

19 

Klickitat . . . 

Goldendale 

16 

21 

Lewis .... 

Chehalis 

20 

27 

Lincoln . . . 

Davenport 

14 

16 

Mason . . . 

Shelton 

23 

31 

Okanogan . . 

Okanogan 

1 

17 

Pacific . . . 

South Bend 

19 

26 

Pend Oreille 

Newport 

2 

60 

Pierce .... 

Tacoma 

25-29 

35-39 

San Juan . . . 

Friday Harbor 

24 

52 

Skagit .... 

Mt. Vernon 

40 

51 

Skamania . . 

Stevenson 

16 

22 

Snohomish . . 

Everett 

38-39 

48-49 

Spokane . . . 

Spokane 

3-7 

2-6 

Stevens . . . 

Colville 

2 

1 

Thurston . . . 

Olympia 

22 

28 

Wahkiakum . . 

Cathlamet 

19 

25 

Walla Walla . . 

Walla Walla 

11-12 

12-13 

Whatcom. . . 

Bellingham 

41-42 

53-54 

Whitman . . . 

Colfax 

8-9 

7-8 

Yakima . . . 

North Yakima 

15 

20 











APPENDIX D 


Office 

By Whom Appointed 

Salaries 

Agricultural Commis¬ 
sioner . 

Governor 

$4,000 

Commissioner of Labor 

Governor 

$3,000 

Fish Commissioner 

and Game Warden . 

Governor 

$3,000 

Mine Inspector . . . 

Governor 

$3,000 

Bank Examiner. . . 

Governor 

$3,600 

Hotel Inspector. . . 

Governor 

$2,400 

Fire Warden and For- 

Board of Forest 


ester . 

Commissioners 

$2,700 

Highway Commis¬ 
sioner . 

Governor 

$5,000 

State Geologist . . . 

Board of Geolog¬ 

None as State 

ical Survey 

Geologist — Is 

Commissioner of 

Health. 

Board of Health 

a Professor of 
Geology at 

University 

$5,000 

Superintendent of 

State Library 


Traveling Library . 

Commission 

$1,800 

Board of Control (3 


* 

members) .... 

Governor 

$3,000 

Public Service Com¬ 
mission (3 members) 

Governor 

$5,000 

Industrial Welfare 


No salary, ex¬ 

Commission (5 


cept Commis¬ 

members) .... 

Governor 

sioner of Labor 

State Tax Commis¬ 
sioner . 

Governor 

(see above). 

$3,000 


123 











124 GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


APPENDIX D — Continued 


Office 

By Whom Appointed 

Salaries 

Grain Inspector. . . 

Public Service 



Commission 

$2,400 

State Veterinarian . . 

Is professor of 


Veterinarian 
Science at 

State College 

No salary 


Under the general direction of the Commissioner of Agri¬ 
culture are inspectors of foods, feeds, drugs, oils, bakeries, 
fertilizers, seeds, and horticultural and veterinary inspectors. 








APPENDIX E 


Showing the votes for and against the measures “Pro¬ 
posed by Initiative Petition,” “Referred to the People by the 
Legislature,” and “The Amendment to the Constitution 
Proposed by the Legislature” in November, 1914. 


Initiative Measures 

For 

Against 

No. 3. State-wide Prohibition. 

189,840 

171,208 

No. 6. Commonly known as the “Blue-sky 
Law,” to prevent fraud in the sale of 
lands, stocks, bonds, etc. 

142,017 

147,298 

No. 7. Abolishing the Bureau of Inspection 
and transferring its powers to the 
State Auditor. 

117,882 

167,080 

No. 8.*To prohibit employment agencies 
from collecting fees from workers for 
securing employment for them . . 

162,054 

144,544 

No. 9. Compelling employers to provide the 
cost of medical, surgical, and hospital 
treatment (first aid) for employees 
injured in the extra-hazardous occu¬ 
pations . 

143,738 

154,166 

No. 10. Employment of convicts upon the 
public highways.. 

111,805 

183,726 

No. 13. Eight-hour workday. 

118,881 

212,935 

Referendum Measures 

No. 1. Teacher’s Retirement Fund . . . 

59,051 

252,356 

No. 2. Quincy Valley Irrigation Act . . . 

102,315 

189,065 

Constitutional Amendment 

An amendment of Section 33, Article 2 of the 
Constitution relating to alien ownership of 
land. 

55,080 

212,542 


i Declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court in 1917. 

125 















126 GOVERNMENT OF WASHINGTON 


APPENDIX E — Continued 


Measures submitted to the voters, November, 1916. 


Referendum Measures 

For 

Against 

No. 3. Relating to initiative and referendum 

62,117 

196,363 

No. 4. Relating to recall of public officers . 

63,646 

193,686 

No. 5. Party conventions act. 

49,370 

200,499 

No. 6. Anti-picketing act. 

No. 7. Certificate of necessity relating to 

85,672 

183,042 

public service corporations .... 

46,820 

201,742 

No. 8. Relating to port commissions . . . 

45,264 

195,253 

No. 9. Relating to the budget system . . 

67,205 

181,833 

Initiative Measures 



No. 18. “ Brewers’ hotel bill ” dealing with the 



sale of intoxicating liquors .... 
No. 24. “Brewers’ bill” dealing with the sale 

48,354 

263,390 

of intoxicating liquors. 

98,843 

245,399 

Constitutional Amendment 



An amendment to the constitution requiring 



voters in elections for the authorization of 
bond issues to be taxpayers. 

88,963 

180,179 

Referendum Measures Submitted to Voters Nov. 1918 



No. 10. “Bone-dry” bill dealing with the sale 



of intoxicating liquors. 

96,100 

54,322 

Constitutional Convention proposed by the 



legislature . 

55,148 

58,713 













INDEX 


Aliens, 26-30. 

Appointive officers, 123-124. 

salaries of, 123-124. 
Astoria, 4. 

Astor, John Jacob, 4. 

Carver, Jonathan, 1. 
Charters, city, 

Seattle, 45-49. 

Tacoma, 49-51. 

Cities, 

Centralia, 19, 52. 

Chehalis, 19, 52. 

Cheney, 19. 

Davenport, 19. 

Everett, 52. 

Hoquiam, 52. 

North Yakima, 52. 
Okanogan, 16. 

Olympia, 17, 61. 

Pullman, 92. 

Seattle, 17, 45-49. 
Spokane, 16, 19, 51. 
Sprague, 19. 

Tacoma, 19, 49-51. 

Walla Walla, 16, 19, 52. 
Citizenship, 26-31. 

City government, 
first-class, 39, 43-53. 
second-class, 40. 
third-class, 41, 


Clark, William, 1, 3, 4. 
Columbia River, 1, 2, 7. 
Comparative Government, 
93-117 

Congressional districts, 121. 
Constitutional Convention, 
21 . 

Counties, 
area of, 119-120. 
date of organization, 
119-120. 

government of, 54-57. 
names of, 119-120. 
population of, 119-120. 
County officers, 55-57. 
County seats, 121-122. 

Delin, Nicholas, 18. 
Discovery, period of, 2. 

Education, 

compulsory, 83. 

State Board of, 81. 
Election Days, 35. 
Elections, 
city, 36. 

direct primary, 32-33. 
general, 32-36. 
non-partisan, 51. 
Enabling Act, 21. 
Explorations, 3. 

Extension work, 91. 





128 


INDEX 


Ferry, Elisha P., 22. 
“Fifty-four Forty,” 8, 12. 
First Organic Law, 14. 

Fort Clatsop, 3, 11. 

Fort Vancouver, 10, 12, 17. 
France, 106. 

Fur trade, 2, 4, 10. 

Germany, 112. 

Government, 

commission form of, 48-52. 
county, 54-57. 
municipal, 38-42. 
state, 61-75. 
territorial, 14-19. 
township, 41, 57-60. 
Governor, 70. 

Grand Jury, 74. 

Gray, Captain, 1, 2. 

Great Britain, 95. 

Hudson Bay Company, 10-12. 

Indians, 

troubles with, 11, 12, 15. 
wars, 16. 

Initiative, 43, 63-64. 

Joint Occupancy Treaty, 7, 

12 . 

Judges, 72-75. 

Juries, 

Grand, 74. 

Petit, 75. 

Trial, 75. 

Lane, Gen. Joseph, 14. 
Legislature, 66-67. 
powers of, 67-68. 


McLoughlin, Dr. John, 10-11. 
Missions, 11-12. 

Mt. Rainier, 19. 

Olympia, 15, 17, 21, 61. 
Oregon Country, the, 1. 

claims to, 6. 

Oregon Territory, 14. 

Petit Jury, 74. 

Pioneers, 16-21, 24. 

Recall, 44, 65. 

Referendum, 43, 63-65. 
Russian claims, 8. 
treaty, 8. 

Sacajawea, 3. 

School districts, 79. 
funds, 77-79. 
lands, 77-79. 

Schools, 

common, 77-84. 
higher, 85-92. 
normal, 85-87. 

State College, 89-91. 

State University, 88-90. 
School superintendents, 
county, 81-82. 
state, 80. 

Settlers, early, 10-12. 
Simmons, Michael T., 17. 
State capital, 61. 
capitol, 61. 

State government, 62-75. 
Executive Dept., 68-72. 
Judicial Dept., 72-75. 
Legislative Dept., 62-68. 



INDEX 


129 


Board of Control, 71. 
Industrial Insurance Board. 
71. 

Industrial Welfare Commis¬ 
sion, 72. 

Public Service Commission, 
71. 

State officers, 68-72. 

Stevens, Gen. Isaac I., 15. 
Superior Court, 72-73. 
Supreme Court, 71. 

Temple of Justice, 73. 
Territorial Capitol, 18. 


Text-books, 83. 

Town meeting, 59. 

Township, 57-59. 
government, 57 
officers, 59. 

Trial Jury, 75. 

Turn Water, 17. 

Washington State, 21-22. 
Washington Territory, 14-21. 
Whitman Massacre, 11. 
Woman Suffrage, 30. 

Yesler, Henry L., 17. 





































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